Nigeria, Ogun State: a hotbed of ritual crimes

Recently I posted several articles on Ogun State’s notorious reputation with respect to ritualistic killings (‘money rituals’).

On December 31, 2023 and January 1, January 2 and January 3 of the current year I paid attention to the scourge of ritual murders in Ogun State, triggered by the public acknowledgement of the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, that ritual killings are the most disturbing trend of criminal activity in the state, followed by the warning that Ogun State Police envisaged to embark on a campaign against the reported rise in ritual murders in 2024.

But also further back, in 2020, I reported that there was an alarming increase in ritualistic murders in this southwestern state, according to my June 3 post of that year: ‘What the **** is goin’ on in Ogun State, Nigeria? Alarming increase in ritualistic murders!’

A recent ritual murder case, implicating a gang of seven men including two priests of a white garment church and two herbalist, originating from four different southern states (Ogun, Oyo, Lagos and Edo), was widely covered in the national media (and also abroad). In all, this post covers nearly twenty articles.

The victim was a 35-year old woman, Sulaimon Adijat. She was brutally murdered for ritual purposes, her body heavily mutilated, on or about January 9. Allegedly, the suspects were not only into ritual murders but also dealt in human parts trading on a large scale. Read the details below. It is a chilling account of heinous crimes committed by greedy and unscrupulous men.

Warning: The following articles contain graphic details which may upset readers (FVDK)

Seven Arrested for Gruesome Murder and Trade of Human Body Parts in Ogun State

Seven Arrested for Gruesome Murder and Trade of Human Body Parts in Ogun State

Published: February 16, 2024
By: Nasiru Eneji Abdulrasheed – BNN, The People’s Network, Nigeria

Seven individuals, including two herbalists and two alleged priests, have been arrested in Ogun State for the murder of Sulaimon Adijat and trading her body parts for a ritual called ‘Oshole’. The police are investigating a larger network involved in these heinous activities, shedding light on the moral decay in society.

In the quiet shadows of Ogun State, a chilling tale of greed and betrayal unfolds, as seven individuals, including two herbalists, two alleged priests of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church, and three others, were apprehended for their involvement in a nefarious plot that culminated in the murder of 35-year-old Sulaimon Adijat.

The suspects, ensnared by the allure of wealth, confessed to the brutal killing, aiming to trade human life for financial gain through a ritual known as ‘Oshole’. The Ogun State Police Command, following a report of the missing woman, embarked on an investigation that led to the grim discovery and subsequent arrest of the gang, unveiling a larger network engaged in the trade of human body parts for monetary rituals, seeking to conjure N200 million within a mere seven days.

A Gruesome Discovery

The investigation into Sulaimon Adijat’s disappearance revealed a horrific scene. Various human body parts, intended for use in the ‘Oshole’ ritual, were recovered from the suspects, painting a gruesome picture of the lengths to which some would go for wealth.

The suspects, now under investigation, confessed to their roles in the crime, exposing the dark underbelly of a society where human life is traded for monetary gain. The Ogun Police Command’s swift action has brought to light the existence of a larger network, prompting an extensive search for other individuals involved in these illicit activities.

The revelation of such a heinous crime has sent shockwaves through the community, raising questions about the moral fabric of those who seek prosperity at the cost of human life. 

The brutal killing of Sulaimon Adijat for money rituals not only highlights the desperate measures some are willing to take but also the pervasive belief in the power of such rituals to alter one’s financial destiny. The incident has ignited a broader conversation on the societal values and the urgent need for a moral reawakening.

Source: Seven Arrested for Gruesome Murder and Trade of Human Body Parts in Ogun State

More:

Two popular prophets arrested for murdering 35-year-old woman for sika duro

The deceased, 35-year old Sulaimon Adijat

Published: February 16, 2024
By: Armani Brooklyn – GHPage

Two Nigerian herbalists named Moses Abidemi and Oluwo Samuel Monday as well as two prophets of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Prophet Peter Oluwalolese and Prophet Jamiu Yusuf have all been arrested for the killing of one Sulaimon Adijat, aged 35, for money ritual purposes.

Three other suspects, Akinwunmi Ifatosin, Sherifff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitouria, who are both from Uromi in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State, were also arrested for the murder.

According to the reports, the aforementioned people are a gang of hardened criminals who are not only involved in ritual killings but also deal in large sales of human parts.

Apparently, the deceased was reported missing in January not knowing that she had been murdered and used for money rituals.

Adijat was said to have been invited out on a date by one Adebayo Olawale Azeez of Ajegunle road, Atan Ota, where she was later kidnapped and murdered.

Source: Two popular prophets arrested for murdering 35-year-old woman for sika duro

And:

Police arrest prophet, 6 other ritualists for killing lady to make N200m in 7 days

Published: February 16, 2024
By: Afolabi – Within Nigeria

  • Olamutu stated that the report of a missing lady, Ms Sulaiimon Adijat, led to the arrest of the culprits

In Ogun State, a seven-man gang that deals in decapitating humans and selling their parts for rituals has been bursted, the police in the south west state have disclosed. The State Police Commissioner, Abiodun Olamutu, made the disclosure in a statement on Thursday.

According to Olamutu, a human heart and two kegs filled with human bodies were recovered from the suspects. He gave the name of the suspects as Moses Abidemi, Oluwo Monday, Prophet Peter Akiwunmi Ifatosin, Jamiu Yusuf, Sheriff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitoura.

Olamutu stated that the report of a missing lady, Ms Sulaiimon Adijat, led to the arrest of the culprits.

Olamutu said the Divisional Police Office, Onipanu, received a report that Adijat was missing on January 9 after she waa invited out on a date by one Adebayo Azeez.

“Despite frantic efforts to locate her whereabouts, her mobile phone has been switched off since the day she was reported missing.

“Consequently, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the command was drafted to unravel the mystery behind her disappearance and a technical-based investigation was embarked on,” the CP said.

The police boss said investigation revealed that the suspects were involved in a money ritual known as ‘Oshole’ to produce N200m within seven days.

“Oluwo Monday charged the duo of Agbai and Alioneitouria N800,000 to prepare the materials for the ritual.

“Oluwo Monday, in furtherance of his criminal intention, later contacted one Peter, who was not new in the trade of human parts, to source for a lady between the age of 18 and 20 years,” he added.

According to him, Peter was to deliver the lady’s mutilated body parts, specifically the head, two breasts, vagina and two wrists that would be used for the ritual.

“However, on January 10, Sheriff and Osojieahen collected the ritual money from Oluwo and travelled back to their location in Edo State.

“Trouble started when Osojieahen used the ritual element as directed by Oluwo, and complained bitterly that it failed to yield the expected sum of 200 million in seven days.

“A search was conducted in the shrine of Moses on Feb. 3 and 10, where female handbags, two cement sacks containing human bones were recovered,” he said.

Source: Police arrest prophet, 6 other ritualists for killing lady to make N200m in 7 days

And:

Herbalists, Prophets Paraded By Police For Killing 35Yr Old Woman For Money Rituals In Ogun

Published: February 16, 2024
By: Onuigbo Felicia – Gistmania, Nigeria

Two herbalists, Moses Abidemi and Oluwo Samuel Monday, and two prophets of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Prophet Peter Oluwalolese and Prophet Jamiu Yusuf, were on Thursday paraded by the police in Ogun State for killing a 35-year-old woman, Sulaimon Adijat, for money rituals.

Paraded alongside the priests were Akinwunmi Ifatosin, Sherifff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitouria.

Parading the suspects at the command headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta, the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, said the suspects were not only into ritual killings but also dealt in human parts trading on a large scale.

He said the operation that led to the arrest of the suspects started on January 9 when a report was lodged at the Onipanu divisional headquarters in Atan-Ota about the missing Adijat.

Adijat allegedly went missing after going for a date with one Adebayo Olawale Azeez of Ajegunle road, Atan Ota.

The commissioner said the victim’s family made frantic efforts to locate her whereabouts which all proved abortive while her mobile phone was also switched off.

Alamutu said that the command deployed its Anti Kidnapping Unit to unravel the mystery behind Adijat’s disappearance.

He added that a technical-based investigation embarked upon by the unit pointed towards the seven suspects.

Alamutu said: 

Quote
“The investigation revealed that on 19th November, 2023, one Sherifff Agbai ‘m’, and Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘m’ contacted Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ a.k.a Oluwo Mandela to perform money ritual known as ‘Oshole’ that can produce Two Hundred Million naira within seven days.

“Oluwo Samuel Monday charged the duo of Sherifff Agbai ‘m’, and Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘m’ the sum of Eight Hundred thousand naira (#800,000) and agreed to prepare the materials for the money ritual.

“Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ in furtherance of his criminal intention later contacted one Peter Oluwalolese ‘m’ who was not new in the trade of human parts, to source for a lady between the age of 18yrs to 20yrs in order to deliver her mutilated body parts, specifically the head, two Bosom, virginal and her two wrists that will be used for money ritual.

“Peter Oluwalolese ‘m’ who is an acclaimed Prophet of a white garment church located in Ibadan, Oyo state, contacted another colleague of his, one Prophet Jamiu Yusuf ‘m’ a,k.a Eri Mose in Lagos state, who is notorious in the supply of human parts for ritual purpose.

“Prophet Jamiu Yusuf further contacted one Abidemi Moses ‘m’ a.k.a. Asela, who is a herbalist at Atan Ota, Ogun State. Abidemi Moses ‘m’ requested for the sum of Six Hundred thousand naira to get a lady that can be used for the money ritual.

“Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ negotiated for the sum of three hundred thousand naira for the human body parts. Abidemi Moses ‘m’ is a herbalist and he serves as an apprentice to one Adebayo Olawale Azeez ‘m’, now at large, to harvest human parts for sale, a business he has enjoyed the proceeds for the past three years.

“Hence, on 9th January, 2024, Adebayo Olawale Azeez ‘m’ invited one Sulaiman Adijat ‘f’ on a date to Sunshine hotel, Atan Ota, and she was later taken to Abidemi Moses shrine at Igbo Olomi area of Atan Ota, Ogun State.

“She was killed by Abidemi Moses ‘m’ and others now at large, and her dismembered body parts were taken to Abidemi Moses’s house at Atan Ota to meet Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ and Prophet Peter Oluwalolese ‘m’ who were waiting for the arrival of the body parts.

“Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ collected the head, two Bosoms, virginal, and two wrists and other body parts of the deceased. Oluwo Samuel Monday prepared the body parts in a local pot, and lighted firewood to burn it in Abidemi Moses’s house till the next day.

“Prophet Peter Oluwalolese ‘m’ joined Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ to kill the ram that was used to appease the spirit of the deceased during the process of performing money ritual. Prophet Peter Oluwalolese and Prophet Jamiu Yusuf were also given some body parts of the deceased.

“On 10th January, 2024, Sheriff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘m’ collected the money ritual from Oluwo Monday Samuel and travelled back to their location in Edo State.

“Trouble started when Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘m’ used the money ritual element as directed by Oluwo Monday Samuel, and they both complained bitterly that the money ritual failed to yield the expected sum of Two hundred million (#200,000,000) in seven days despite having used if for three weeks.

“A search was conducted in the shrine of Abidemi Moses on the 3rd February, 2024, and ten female handbags, two 25 litres gallons containing human parts, one axe, and two cement sacks containing human bones were recovered from his shrine at Igbo Olomi, Atan Ota.

“The relative of the deceased later came to the police station and identified one of the ten bags that were recovered as the hand bag of their daughter Sulaimon Adijat.”
Unquote

The commissioner disclosed that efforts were on to apprehend the fleeing suspects. He noted that the matter would be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.

Source: Herbalists, Prophets Paraded By Police For Killing 35Yr Old Woman For Money Rituals In Ogun

And:

Prophet, six others arrested for ritual killing in Ogun

Published: February 17, 2024
By: Punch, Nigeria

The Ogun Police Command has arrested a seven-man gang suspected to be specialised in trading human parts and for money rituals.

The Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, disclosed that a human heart and two kegs filled with human body parts were parts of exhibits recovered from the suspects.

The men arrested on Thursday were identified by the police as  Moses Abidemi, Oluwo Monday, Prophet Peter Akiwunmi Ifatosin, Jamiu Yusuf, Sheriff Agbai, and Osojieahen Alioneitoura.

Alamutu explained that the Divisional Police Office in Onipanu, received a report of a missing lady, Ms Sulaiimon Adijat, on January 9 who was invited out on a date by one Adebayo Azeez.

“Despite frantic efforts to locate her whereabouts, the mobile phone has been switched off since the day she was reported missing. Consequently, the anti-kidnapping unit of the command was drafted to unravel the mystery behind her disappearance, and a technical-based investigation was embarked on,” the CP said.

According to him, the investigation revealed that the suspects were involved in a money ritual known as ‘Oshole’ to produce N200m within seven days.

“Oluwo Monday charged the duo of Agbai and Alioneitouria N800,000 to prepare the materials for the ritual money. Oluwo Monday, in furtherance of his criminal intention, later contacted one Peter, who was not new in the trade of human parts, to source for a lady between the ages of 18 and 20 years.”

The CP said Peter was to deliver the lady’s mutilated body parts, specifically the head, two breasts, vagina, and two wrists that would be used for the alleged ritual.

“However, on January 10, Sheriff and Osojieahen collected the ritual money from Oluwo and travelled back to their location in Edo State. Trouble started when Osojieahen used the ritual element as directed by Oluwo, and complained bitterly that it failed to yield the expected sum of N200m in seven days.

“A search was conducted in the shrine of Moses on February 3 and 10, where female handbags and two cement sacks containing human bones were recovered,” Alamutu added.

The CP noted that all the suspects confessed to the alleged crime and their roles, adding that an investigation was ongoing to arrest other fleeing suspects.

Source: Prophet, six others arrested for ritual killing in Ogun

And:

Pictures: Prophets, Herbalists, Others Arrested For Killing 35-year-old Lady For Money Rituals

The victim, 35-year old Sulaimon Adijat

Published: February 16, 2024
By: Justina Otto – NaijaNews, Nigeria

The Ogun State Police Command has apprehended some suspects in connection to the murder of one Sulaimon Adijat for ritual purposes.

Those arrested include two herbalists, Moses Abidemi and Oluwo Samuel Monday as well as two alleged priests of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Prophet Peter Oluwalolese and Prophet Jamiu Yusuf.

Three other suspects, Akinwunmi Ifatosin, Sherifff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitouria, who are both from Uromi in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State, were also arrested for the murder.

Parading the suspects at the Command Headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, the State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, described them as gang of hardened criminals who are not only involved in ritual killings but also deal in large sale of human parts.

According to Alamutu, on January 9, 2024, DPO of Onipanu Divisional headquarters of the Nigeria Police in Atan-Ota received the report of a missing 35-years-old Sulaimon Adijat.

The deceased was said to be invited on a date by one Adebayo Olawale Azeez of Ajegunle road, Atan Ota, (now at large).

It was gathered that Adijat, who worked as a security guard at Canaan Land, Sango Ota, received a call after she got back from work.

She said: “I ‘m coming” to the caller and then told her sister that she was going to Atan in Ota.

The CP revealed that consequently, a tactical team of the police, specifically the Anti Kidnapping Unit of the Command was drafted to unravel the mystery behind her disappearance.

According to the Commissioner, “The investigation revealed that on 19th November, 2023, one Sherifff Agbai ‘m’, and Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘m’ contacted Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ a.k.a Oluwo Mandela to perform money ritual known as ‘Oshole’ that can produce Two Hundred Million naira within seven days,” 

“Oluwo Samuel Monday charged the duo of Sherifff Agbai ‘m’, and Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘m’ the sum of Eight Hundred thousand naira (#800,000) and agreed to prepare the materials for the money ritual. 

“Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ in furtherance of his criminal intention later contacted one Peter Oluwalolese ‘m’ who was not new in the trade of human parts, to source for a lady between the age of 18yrs to 20yrs in order to deliver her mutilated body parts, specifically the head, two breast, virginal and her two wrists that will be used for money ritual. 

“Peter Oluwalolese ‘m’ who is an acclaimed Prophet of a white garment church located in Ibadan, Oyo state, contacted another colleague of his, one Prophet Jamiu Yusuf ‘m’ a,k.a Eri Mose in Lagos state, who is notorious in the supply of human parts for ritual purpose. 

“Prophet Jamiu Yusuf further contacted one Abidemi Moses ‘m’ a.k.a. Asela, who is a herbalist at Atan Ota, Ogun State. Abidemi Moses ‘m’ requested for the sum of Six Hundred thousand naira to get a lady that can be used for the money ritual 

“Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ negotiated for the sum of three hundred thousand naira for the human body parts. Abidemi Moses ‘m’ is a herbalist and he serves as an apprentice to one Adebayo Olawale Azeez ‘m’, now at large, to harvest human parts for sale, a business he has enjoyed the proceeds for the past three years. 

“Hence, on 9th January, 2024, Adebayo Olawale Azeez ‘m’ invited one Sulaiman Adijat ‘f’ on a date to Sunshine hotel, Atan Ota, and she was later taken to Abidemi Moses shrine at Igbo Olomi area of Atan Ota, Ogun State 

“She was killed by Abidemi Moses ‘m’ and others now at large, and her dismembered body parts were taken to Abidemi Moses’ house at Atan Ota to meet Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ and Prophet Peter Oluwalolese ‘m’ who were waiting for the arrival of the body parts 

The CP also disclosed that all the arrested suspects confessed to the alleged crime and their individual roles.

According to him, investigation is ongoing to arrest other fleeing suspects and the case will be charged to court as soon as investigation is completed.

Source: Pictures: Prophets, Herbalists, Others Arrested For Killing 35-year-old Lady For Money Rituals

And:

Ogun Police Parade Ritual Syndicate, Including Prophets, Herbalists, for Alleged Abduction and Killing

Source: Crown Images, Naija News

Published:February 16, 2024
By: Shabach Bako – Remo TV, Nigeria

Commissioner of Police in Ogun State, Abiodun Alamutu, paraded four suspects, including two herbalists and two prophets, accused of the brutal killing of a 35-year-old woman, Sulaimon Adijat, for money ritual purposes.

The suspects identified as Moses Abidemi, Oluwo Samuel Monday, Prophet Peter Oluwalolese, and Prophet Jamiu Yusuf were presented before newsmen at the Ogun State Police Command’s headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta.

Commissioner Alamutu disclosed that the arrest followed the report of Sulaimon Adijat’s disappearance on January 9, after allegedly receiving a call from a friend, Adebayo Azeez, who invited her on a date. Despite efforts by her family to locate her, her phone was switched off, prompting the police’s anti-kidnapping team to intervene.

Investigations revealed a grim plot orchestrated by the duo of Sherifff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitouria, who contracted herbalist Oluwo Samuel Monday to perform a money ritual known as ‘Oshole’ promising a return of N200 million within seven days. The herbalist, in turn, enlisted the help of Prophet Peter Oluwalolese and Prophet Jamiu Yusuf to source a lady between 18 and 20 years for the ritual.

Adebayo Azeez, tasked with providing human parts for the syndicate, invited Adijat on a date to a hotel in the Atan area, where she was allegedly killed and her body dismembered in a shrine by Moses Abidemi. The herbalist later burned the body parts in a local pot, subsequently killing a ram to appease Adijat’s soul.

However, complications arose among the syndicate members when the anticipated N200 million from the ritual did not materialize, leading to complaints from Agbai and Alioneitouria.

The police, conducting a search at Abidemi Moses’ shrine, recovered incriminating evidence, including female handbags, gallons containing human parts, an axe, and bags filled with human bones.

Commissioner Alamutu assured the public of continuous updates as the investigation progresses, highlighting the recovered exhibits, including criminal charms, as crucial evidence. The suspects, having confessed to their roles in the crime, will face charges in court upon the completion of the investigation.

Source: Ogun Police Parade Ritual Syndicate, Including Prophets, Herbalists, for Alleged Abduction and Killing

And:

Police parade herbalists, prophets for killing 35-year-old woman for money rituals in Ogun

Published: February 16, 2024
By: John Ogunsemore – The Herald, Nigeria

Two herbalists, Moses Abidemi and Oluwo Samuel Monday, and two prophets of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Prophet Peter Oluwalolese and Prophet Jamiu Yusuf, were on Thursday paraded by the police in Ogun State for killing a 35-year-old woman, Sulaimon Adijat, for money rituals.

Paraded alongside the priests were Akinwunmi Ifatosin, Sherifff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitouria.

Parading the suspects at the command headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta, the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, said the suspects were not only into ritual killings but also dealt in human parts trading on a large scale.

He said the operation that led to the arrest of the suspects started on January 9 when a report was lodged at the Onipanu divisional headquarters in Atan-Ota about the missing Adijat.

Adijat allegedly went missing after going for a date with one Adebayo Olawale Azeez of Ajegunle road, Atan Ota.

The commissioner said the victim’s family made frantic efforts to locate her whereabouts which all proved abortive while her mobile phone was also switched off.

Alamutu said that the command deployed its Anti Kidnapping Unit to unravel the mystery behind Adijat’s disappearance.

He added that a technical-based investigation embarked upon by the unit pointed towards the seven suspects.

Alamutu said, “The investigation revealed that on 19th November, 2023, one Sherifff Agbai ‘m’, and Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘m’ contacted Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ a.k.a Oluwo Mandela to perform money ritual known as ‘Oshole’ that can produce Two Hundred Million naira within seven days.

“Oluwo Samuel Monday charged the duo of Sherifff Agbai ‘m’, and Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘m’ the sum of Eight Hundred thousand naira (#800,000) and agreed to prepare the materials for the money ritual.

“Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ in furtherance of his criminal intention later contacted one Peter Oluwalolese ‘m’ who was not new in the trade of human parts, to source for a lady between the age of 18yrs to 20yrs in order to deliver her mutilated body parts, specifically the head, two breast, virginal and her two wrists that will be used for money ritual.

“Peter Oluwalolese ‘m’ who is an acclaimed Prophet of a white garment church located in Ibadan, Oyo state, contacted another colleague of his, one Prophet Jamiu Yusuf ‘m’ a,k.a Eri Mose in Lagos state, who is notorious in the supply of human parts for ritual purpose.

“Prophet Jamiu Yusuf further contacted one Abidemi Moses ‘m’ a.k.a. Asela, who is a herbalist at Atan Ota, Ogun State. Abidemi Moses ‘m’ requested for the sum of Six Hundred thousand naira to get a lady that can be used for the money ritual.

“Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ negotiated for the sum of three hundred thousand naira for the human body parts. Abidemi Moses ‘m’ is a herbalist and he serves as an apprentice to one Adebayo Olawale Azeez ‘m’, now at large, to harvest human parts for sale, a business he has enjoyed the proceeds for the past three years.

“Hence, on 9th January, 2024, Adebayo Olawale Azeez ‘m’ invited one Sulaiman Adijat ‘f’ on a date to Sunshine hotel, Atan Ota, and she was later taken to Abidemi Moses shrine at Igbo Olomi area of Atan Ota, Ogun State.

“She was killed by Abidemi Moses ‘m’ and others now at large, and her dismembered body parts were taken to Abidemi Moses’s house at Atan Ota to meet Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ and Prophet Peter Oluwalolese ‘m’ who were waiting for the arrival of the body parts.

“Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ collected the head, two breasts, virginal, and two wrists and other body parts of the deceased. Oluwo Samuel Monday prepared the body parts in a local pot, and lighted firewood to burn it in Abidemi Moses’s house till the next day.

“Prophet Peter Oluwalolese ‘m’ joined Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ to kill the ram that was used to appease the spirit of the deceased during the process of performing money ritual. Prophet Peter Oluwalolese and Prophet Jamiu Yusuf were also given some body parts of the deceased.

“On 10th January, 2024, Sheriff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘m’ collected the money ritual from Oluwo Monday Samuel and travelled back to their location in Edo State.

“Trouble started when Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘m’ used the money ritual element as directed by Oluwo Monday Samuel, and they both complained bitterly that the money ritual failed to yield the expected sum of Two hundred million (#200,000,000) in seven days despite having used if for three weeks.

“A search was conducted in the shrine of Abidemi Moses on the 3rd February, 2024, and ten female handbags, two 25 litres gallons containing human parts, one axe, and two cement sacks containing human bones were recovered from his shrine at Igbo Olomi, Atan Ota.

“The relative of the deceased later came to the police station and identified one of the ten bags that were recovered as the hand bag of their daughter Sulaimon Adijat.”

The commissioner disclosed that efforts were on to apprehend the fleeing suspects.

He noted that the matter would be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.

Source: Police parade herbalists, prophets for killing 35-year-old woman for money rituals in Ogun

And:

Police Arrest Prophet, Other Suspects Over Ritual Killing In Ogun
While narrating how they were arrested, the command said it followed the “sudden disappearance” of the deceased which was reported to the DPO of Onipanu on the 9th of January, 2024. 

In this file photo, a police officer hold bunch of handcuffs at SARS headqurters in Abuja on October 3rd, 2020 PHOTO: Sodiq Adelakun/Channels TV

Published: February 16, 2024
By: Emmanuel Egobiambu – Channels TV, Nigeria

Police authorities in Ogun State have arrested seven suspects including a prophet and herbalist over the killing of a lady for ritual purposes.

The Ogun Police Command said this in a late Thursday statement.

“The Commissioner of Police Ogun State Police Command, CP Abiodun Mustapha ALAMUTU today being 15th of February 2024, at the Headquarters in Eleweran Abeokuta paraded seven daredevil persons who were directly involved in the killing of one Sulaimon Aishat ‘f’ 35yrs for ritual purpose,” the statement read.

While narrating how they were arrested, the command said it followed the “sudden disappearance” of the deceased which was reported to the DPO of Onipanu on the 9th of January, 2024.

“Consequently upon the report, the CP gave a matching order to the officer in charge of Anti kidnapping Unit, to unravel the mystery behind her disappearance,” the police said.

“The efforts of the crack detectives from anti-kidnapping paid off as seven suspects who were directly involved in the killing of Sulaimon Adijat were arrested after a technical-based investigation.

“They are:- 1. Moses Abidemi ‘m’ 2. Oluwo Samuel ‘m’ 3. Prophet Peter Oluwalolese ‘m’ 4. Akinwunmi Ifatosin ‘m’ 5. Prophet Jamiu Yusuf’s ‘m’ 6. Sherif Agbai ‘m’ 7. Osojieahen Alioneiouria ‘m’. The investigation further revealed that on the 19th of November 2023, Sherif Agbai and Osojeiahen Alioneouria ‘m’ contact Oluwo Samuel Moday to perform a money ritual known as ‘Oshole’ that can produce Two hundred million naira (#200,000,000) within 7 days, and Oluwo Samuel Moday charged them for the sum of Eight hundred thousand (#800,000) and agreed to prepare the materials for ritual.

“Oluwo Samuel Monday in furtherance of his criminal intention later contacted one Peter Oluwalolese who was not new in the trade of human parts, to source for a lady between the ages of 18yrs to 20yrs in order to deliver her mutilated body parts, specifically the head, two breast, private part and her two wrists that will be used for money ritual.

“Peter Oluwalolese who is acclaimed pastor of a white garment church located in Ibadan, Oyo State, also contacted another colleague of his, one Prophet Jamiu Yusuf ‘m’ a.k.a Eri Mose in Lagos State, who is notorious for the supply of human parts for ritual purposes. Prophet Jamiu Yusuf further contacted one Abidemi Moses ‘m’ a.k.a Asela, who is an herbalist at Ata Ota, Ogun State.

“Abidemi Moses requested the sum of six hundred thousand naira to get a lady that can be used for the money ritual. Oluwo Samuel Monday negotiated for the sum of three hundred thousand naira for the human body parts.

“Abidemi Moses is a herbalist and he serves as an apprentice to one Adebayo Olawale Azeez now at large, to harvest human parts for sale, a business he has enjoyed the proceeds for three years. Hence Adebayo Olawale Azeez surreptitiously invited Sulaimon Adijat to Sunshine Hotel, Atan Ota, and she was later taken to Abidemi Moses shrine at Igbi Olomi area of Atan Ota, Ogun State.

“She was killed by Abidemi Moses and others now at large, and her dismembered body parts were taken to Abidemi Moses house at Atan Ota to meet Oluwo Sameul Moday and Prophet Peter Oluwalolese who were waiting for the arrival of the body parts.

“A search was conducted in the shrine of Abidemi Moses on the 3rd of February, 2024, and ten female handbags, two 25 liters gallons containing human parts, one axe, and two cement sacks containing human bones were recovered from his shrine at Igbo Olomi, Atan Ota.

“Meanwhile, all the arrested suspects confessed to the alleged crime and their individual roles, investigation is ongoing to arrest other fleeing suspects and the case will be charged to court as soon as the investigation is completed. Members of the public will be duly updated.”

Source: Police Arrest Prophet, Other Suspects Over Ritual Killing In Ogun

And:

Ogun police arrest prophets, herbalists over 35-years-old woman’s death

Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu

Published: February 15, 2024
By: Taiwo Bankole – Punch. Nigeria

The Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, on Thursday, paraded two herbalists, Moses Abidemi and Oluwo Samuel Monday as well as two alleged priests of Cherubim and Seraph Church, Prophet Peter Oluwalolese and Prophet Jamiu Yusuf, over the killing of one Sulaimon Adijat, aged 35, for money ritual purposes.

Also arrested and paraded for the act were Akinwunmi Ifatosin, Sherifff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitouria, who are both from Uromi in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State.

Parading the suspects at the Command Headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta on Wednesday, the police boss described them as gang of hardened criminals who are not only involved in ritual killings but also deal in large sale of human parts.

Alamutu disclosed that their date with the long hand of the law started on January 9, 2024, when the DPO of Onipanu Divisional headquarters of the Nigeria Police in Atan-Ota received the report of a missing 35-years-old Sulaimon Adijat.

Adijat was said to have been invited out on a date by one Adebayo Olawale Azeez of Ajegunle road, Atan Ota, and since then Adijat has not been seen, despite frantic efforts to locate her whereabout while her mobile phone had been switched off.

The CP revealed that consequently, a tactical team of the police, specifically the Anti Kidnapping Unit of the Command was drafted to unravel the mystery behind her disappearance.

The team was said to have embarked on a technical based investigation, which led to the arrest of the seven suspects, who participated actively in the abduction and eventual murder of the missing Sulaimon Adijat.

Alamutu explained further that “the investigation revealed that on 19th November, 2023, one Sherifff Agbai ‘m’, and Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘m’ contacted Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ a.k.a Oluwo Mandela to perform money ritual known as ‘Oshole’ that can produce Two Hundred Million naira within seven days. 

“Oluwo Samuel Monday charged the duo of Sherifff Agbai ‘m’, and Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘m’ the sum of Eight Hundred thousand naira (#800,000) and agreed to prepare the materials for the money ritual. 

“Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ in furtherance of his criminal intention later contacted one Peter Oluwalolese ‘m’ who was not new in the trade of human parts, to source for a lady between the age of 18yrs to 20yrs in order to deliver her mutilated body parts, specifically the head, two breast, virginal and her two wrists that will be used for money ritual.

“Peter Oluwalolese ‘m’ who is an acclaimed Prophet of a white garment church located in Ibadan, Oyo state, contacted another colleague of his, one Prophet Jamiu Yusuf ‘m’ a,k.a Eri Mose in Lagos state, who is notorious in the supply of human parts for ritual purpose. 

“Prophet Jamiu Yusuf further contacted one Abidemi Moses ‘m’ a.k.a. Asela, who is a herbalist at Atan Ota, Ogun State. Abidemi Moses ‘m’ requested for the sum of Six Hundred thousand naira to get a lady that can be used for the money ritual.

“Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ negotiated for the sum of three hundred thousand naira for the human body parts. Abidemi Moses ‘m’ is a herbalist and he serves as an apprentice to one Adebayo Olawale Azeez ‘m’, now at large, to harvest human parts for sale, a business he has enjoyed the proceeds for the past three years. 

“Hence, on 9th January, 2024, Adebayo Olawale Azeez ‘m’ invited one Sulaiman Adijat ‘f’ on a date to Sunshine hotel, Atan Ota, and she was later taken to Abidemi Moses shrine at Igbo Olomi area of Atan Ota, Ogun State.

“She was killed by Abidemi Moses ‘m’ and others now at large, and her dismembered body parts were taken to Abidemi Moses’s house at Atan Ota to meet Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ and Prophet Peter Oluwalolese ‘m’ who were waiting for the arrival of the body parts.

“Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ collected the head, two breasts, virginal, and two wrists and other body parts of the deceased. Oluwo Samuel Monday prepared the body parts in a local pot, and lighted firewood to burn it in Abidemi Moses’s house till the next day. 

“Prophet Peter Oluwalolese ‘m’ joined Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ to kill the ram that was used to appease the spirit of the deceased during the process of performing money ritual. Prophet Peter Oluwalolese and Prophet Jamiu Yusuf were also given some body parts of the deceased. 

“On 10th January, 2024, Sheriff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘m’ collected the money ritual from Oluwo Monday Samuel and travelled back to their location in Edo State. 

“Trouble started when Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘m’ used the money ritual element as directed by Oluwo Monday Samuel, and they both complained bitterly that the money ritual failed to yield the expected sum of Two hundred million (#200,000,000) in seven days despite having used if for three weeks.

“A search was conducted in the shrine of Abidemi Moses on the 3rd February, 2024, and ten female handbags, two 25 litres gallons containing human parts, one axe, and two cement sacks containing human bones were recovered from his shrine at Igbo Olomi, Atan Ota. 

“The relative of the deceased later came to the police station and identified one of the ten bags that were recovered as the hand bag of their daughter Sulaimon Adijat.”

Meanwhile, the CP has said that all the arrested suspects confessed to the alleged crime and their individual roles. 

According to him, investigation is ongoing to arrest other fleeing suspects and the case will be charged to court as soon as investigation is completed.

Source: Ogun police arrest prophets, herbalists over 35-years-old woman’s death

And:

Police arrest two ‘prophets’, others for killing woman for money ritual in Ogun

Published: February 16, 2014
By: TG News, Nigeria

Police in Ogun State have arrested two self-acclaimed prophets of white garment churches and five other persons for allegedly killing and dismembering the body of a 35-year-old woman, Adijat Sulaimon, for money ritual in Atan-Ota.

The suspects who are: Moses Abidemi; Oluwo Samuel Monday; Prophet Peter Oluwalese; Akinwunmi Ifatosin; Prophet Jamiu Yusuf; Sheriff Agbai and Osojieahen Alionetouria, were all paraded at the Police Headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta.

They were arrested following a report of a missing person on January 9, 2024 by the DPO of Onipanu Divisional Headquarters that one Adebayo Olawale Azeez invited the victim out on a date and since then she had yet to return as her mobile phone was switched off and her whereabouts remain unknown.

On receiving the information, a tactical team of the Anti Kidnapping Unit of the Command were sent out on a technical based investigation to unravel the mystery behind the cause of disappearance which led to the arrest of the seven (7) suspects that participated actively in the abduction and murder of the deceased.

Commissioner of Police, CP Abiodun Alamutu, while parading the suspects at the Police Headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta, said that the suspects killed and dismembered the body of the victim for ‘Oshole’ money ritual that can produce N200,000, 000 within a week.

Alamutu explained that the duo of Agabai and Alioneitouria contacted Oluwo to perform money ritual for them that could produce N200M within seven days and Oluwo charged both of the N800,000 for the ritual work and promise them he would also provide materials for the work.

He explained further that Oluwo later contacted Oluwalolese, to get him a woman between the age of 18 to 20 whose party of the body including the head, two breast, virginal and her two wrists which will be used for money ritual.

The CP went on that Oluwalolose from a white garment church in Ibadan, Oyo State, who later contacted Yusuf another white garment prophet from Lagos State popularly known as Eri Mose, asking him if he could help to get a woman whose party of her body would be use for the money ritual.

He said Yusuf contacted Abidemi, an herbalist from Atan-Ota, Ogun State, who demanded N600,000 before he could deliver a woman for the mutilated body parts and Yusuf negotiated the body materials to N300,000 which Abidemi agreed and called his apprentice Azeez to harvest human parts for him.

Alamutu said that Azeez, now at large, went ahead to do the harvest human parts which he uses as livelihood for the past three years and lured the victim out of her house on January 9 to an hotel at Atan-Ota, from where they headed to Abidemi shrine in Olomi area where she was killed by Abidemi and others now on the run and her dismembered body were taken to Oluwo.

He said “Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ collected the head, two breasts, virginal, and two wrists and other body parts of the deceased. Oluwo Samuel Monday prepared the body parts in a local pot, and lighted firewood to burn it in Abidemi Moses’s house till the next day. Prophet Peter Oluwalolese ‘m’ joined Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ to kill the ram that was used to appease the spirit of the deceased during the process of performing money ritual. Prophet Peter Oluwalolese and Prophet Jamiu Yusuf were also given some body parts of the deceased. On 10th January, 2024, Sheriff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘m’ collected the money ritual from Oluwo Monday Samuel and travelled back to their location in Edo State.

“Trouble started when Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘m’ used the money ritual element as directed by Oluwo Monday Samuel, and they both complained bitterly that the money ritual failed to yield the expected sum of Two hundred million (#200,000,000) in seven days despite having used it for three weeks. A search was conducted in the shrine of Abidemi Moses on the 3rd February, 2024, and ten female handbags, two 25 litres gallons containing human parts, one axe, and two cement sacks containing human bones were recovered from his shrine at Igbo Olomi, Atan Ota.

“The relative of the deceased later came to the police station and identified one of the ten bags that were recovered as the hand bag of their daughter Sulaimon Adijat.” he added

Meanwhile, all the arrested suspects confessed to the alleged crime and their individual roles. Investigation is ongoing to arrest other fleeing suspects and the case will be charged to court as soon as investigation is completed.”

Exhibits recovered from them includes :
One axe, ten female hand bags, local pots, one wooden box containing money ritual, two bags containing human bones and parts, two gallons containing human parts, and charms

Source: Police arrest two ‘prophets’, others for killing woman for money ritual in Ogun

And:

Police nab ritualists for murdering lady to make N200m in 7 days in Ogun

Published: February 16, 2024
By: Kehinde Okeowo – The Niche, Nigeria

Police said the suspects were caught with a human heart and two kegs filled with human bodies. 

By Kehinde Okeowo

A seven-man gang that specializes in killing and selling human parts for rituals have been arrested by the Ogun State Police Command.

This was revealed on Thursday by the State Police Commissioner, Abiodun Olamutu, who claimed the suspects were caught with a human heart and two kegs filled with human bodies.

The men in police custody include Moses Abidemi, Oluwo Monday, Prophet Peter Akiwunmi Ifatosin, Jamiu Yusuf, Sheriff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitoura.

According to the CP, it all started when the Divisional Police Office, Onipanu, received a report on January 9, that a lady identified as Ms Sulaiimon Adijat who was invited out on a date by one Adebayo Azeez was missing. 

Olamutu added: “Despite frantic efforts to locate her whereabouts, her mobile phone has been switched off since the day she was reported missing.

“Consequently, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the command was drafted to unravel the mystery behind her disappearance and a technical-based investigation was embarked on.”

He went on to say investigation revealed that the suspects were involved in a money ritual known as ‘Oshole’ to produce N200m within seven days.

“Oluwo Monday charged the duo of Agbai and Alioneitouria N800,000 to prepare the materials for the ritual.

“Oluwo Monday, in furtherance of his criminal intention, later contacted one Peter, who was not new in the trade of human parts, to source for a lady between the age of 18 and 20 years,” he added.

The Police boss further claimed that Peter was to deliver the lady’s mutilated body parts, specifically the head, two breasts, vagina and two wrists that would be used for the ritual.

“However, on January 10, Sheriff and Osojieahen collected the ritual money from Oluwo and travelled back to their location in Edo State.

“Trouble started when Osojieahen used the ritual element as directed by Oluwo, and complained bitterly that it failed to yield the expected sum of 200 million in seven days.

“A search was conducted in the shrine of Moses on Feb. 3 and 10, where female handbags, two cement sacks containing human bones were recovered,” he said.

Source: Police nab ritualists for murdering lady to make N200m in 7 days in Ogun

And:

Ogun: 2 Herbalists, Others Arrested For Killing 35-Year-Old Woman for Money Ritual

Published: February 16, 2024
By: New Telegraph, Nigeria

Operatives of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested two herbalists and two self- acclaimed priests of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church for allegedly killing a 35-year-old woman, Sulaimon Adijat for money ritual purposes. The suspects: Moses Abidemi, Oluwo Samuel Mon- day, Peter Oluwalolese and Jamiu Yusuf allegedly killed Adijat and dismembered her body.

The suspects were paraded before journalists by the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, at the command’s headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta on Wednesday. Also arrested and paraded for crime were: Akinwunmi Ifatosin, Sheriff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitouria who are both from Uromi in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State.

Parading the suspects, Alamutu described them as gang of hardened criminals who are not only involved in ritual killings, but also deal in large sale of human parts. Alamutu disclosed that the suspects were arrested following a missing person report of the victim lodged at Onipanu Divisional headquarters of the Nigeria Police in Atan-Ota on January 9.

The deceased was said to have been invited out on a date by one of them and since then Adijat has not been seen, despite frantic efforts to locate her whereabouts, while her mobile phone had been switched off. The police boss revealed that consequently, a tactical team of the police, specifically the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Command was drafted to unravel the mystery behind her disappearance.

The team was said to have embarked on a technical based investigation, which led to the arrest of the seven suspects who participated actively in the abduction and eventual murder of the missing Sulaimon Adijat. Alamutu explained further that: “The investigation revealed that on 19th November, 2023, one Sherifff Agbai, and Osojieahen Alionei- touria contacted Oluwo Samuel Monday a.k.a Oluwo Mandela to perform money ritual known as ‘Oshole’ that can produce Two Hundred Million naira within seven days.”

Source: Ogun: 2 Herbalists, Others Arrested For Killing 35-Year-Old Woman for Money Ritual

and:

Ogun: Two Herbalists, Others Arrested For Killing 35-Year-Old Woman For Money Ritual

Suspects

Published: February 15, 2024
By: Olufemi Adediran – New Telegraph, Nigeria

The operatives of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested two herbalists and two self-acclaimed priests of Cherubim and Seraph Church for allegedly killing a 35-year-old woman, Sulaimon Adijat for a money ritual.

The suspects: Moses Abidemi, Oluwo Samuel Monday, Peter Oluwalolese and Jamiu Yusuf allegedly killed Adijat and dismembered her body parts.

The suspects were paraded before journalists by the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu at the command’s headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta on Wednesday.

Also arrested and paraded for crime were: Akinwunmi Ifatosin, Sherifff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitouria who are both from Uromi in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State.

Parading the suspects, Alamutu described them as a gang of hardened criminals who are not only involved in ritual killings but also deal in large sales of human parts.

Alamutu disclosed that the suspects were arrested following a missing person report of the victim lodged at Onipanu Divisional headquarters of the Nigeria Police in Atan-Ota on January 9.

The deceased was said to have been invited out on a date by one and since then Adijat has not been seen, despite frantic efforts to locate her whereabouts while her mobile phone had been switched off.

The police boss revealed that consequently, a tactical team of the police, specifically the Anti Kidnapping Unit of the Command was drafted to unravel the mystery behind her disappearance.

The team was said to have embarked on a technical-based investigation, which led to the arrest of the seven suspects who participated actively in the abduction and eventual murder of the missing Sulaimon Adijat.

Alamutu explained further that “the investigation revealed that on 19th November 2023, one Sheriff Agbai, and Osojieahen Alioneitouria contacted Oluwo Samuel Monday a.k.a Oluwo Mandela to perform money ritual known as ‘Oshole’ that can produce Two Hundred Million naira within seven days.

“Oluwo Samuel Monday charged the duo of Sherifff Agbai ‘m’, and Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘m’ the sum of Eight Hundred thousand naira (N800,000) and agreed to prepare the materials for the money ritual.

“Oluwo Samuel Monday in furtherance of his criminal intention later contacted one Peter Oluwalolese who was not new in the trade of human parts, to source for a lady between the age of 18yrs to 20 years in order to deliver her mutilated body parts, specifically the head, two breast, virginal and her two wrists that will be used for money ritual.

“Peter Oluwalolese who is an acclaimed Prophet of a white garment church located in Ibadan, Oyo state, contacted another colleague of his, one Prophet Jamiu Yusuf a.k.a Eri Mose in Lagos state, who is notorious in the supply of human parts for ritual purpose.

“Prophet Jamiu Yusuf further contacted one Abidemi Moses a.k.a. Asela, who is a herbalist at Atan Ota, Ogun State. Abidemi Moses requested for the sum of Six Hundred thousand naira to get a lady that can be used for the money ritual.

“Oluwo Samuel Monday negotiated for the sum of three hundred thousand naira for the human body parts. Abidemi Moses ‘m’ is a herbalist and he serves as an apprentice to one Adebayo Olawale Azeez, now at large, to harvest human parts for sale, a business he has enjoyed the proceeds for the past three years.

“Hence, on 9th January 2024, Adebayo Olawale Azeez invited one Sulaiman Adijat on a date to Sunshine Hotel, Atan Ota, and she was later taken to Abidemi Moses shrine at Igbo Olomi area of Atan Ota, Ogun State.

“She was killed by Abidemi Moses and others now at large, and her dismembered body parts were taken to Abidemi Moses’s house at Atan Ota to meet Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ and Prophet Peter Oluwalolese ‘m’ who were waiting for the arrival of the body parts.

“Oluwo Samuel Monday collected the head, two breasts, virginal, and two wrists and other body parts of the deceased. Oluwo Samuel Monday prepared the body parts in a local pot, and lighted firewood to burn it in Abidemi Moses’s house till the next day.

“Prophet Peter Oluwalolese joined Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘m’ to kill the ram that was used to appease the spirit of the deceased during the process of performing money ritual. Prophet Peter Oluwalolese and Prophet Jamiu Yusuf were also given some body parts of the deceased.

“On 10th January, 2024, Sheriff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘m’ collected the money ritual from Oluwo Monday Samuel and travelled back to their location in Edo State.

“Trouble started when Osojieahen Alioneitouri used the money ritual element as directed by Oluwo Monday Samuel, and they both complained bitterly that the money ritual failed to yield the expected sum of Two hundred million (N200,000,000) in seven days despite having used if for three weeks.

“A search was conducted in the shrine of Abidemi Moses on the 3rd February 2024, and ten female handbags, two 25 litres gallons containing human parts, one axe, and two cement sacks containing human bones were recovered from his shrine at Igbo Olomi, Atan Ota.

“The relative of the deceased later came to the police station and identified one of the ten bags that were recovered as the handbag of their daughter Sulaimon Adijat”

Meanwhile, Alamutu has said that all the arrested suspects confessed to the alleged crime and their roles. The investigation is ongoing to arrest other fleeing suspects and the case will be charged to court as soon as the investigation is completed.

Source: Ogun: Two Herbalists, Others Arrested For Killing 35-Year-Old Woman For Money Ritual

And:

Ritualists Nabbed For Allegedly Killing Lady To Make N200m

Published: February 16, 2024
By: Peace Oladapo – New Telegraph, Nigeria

The Ogun State Police Command on Friday said its operatives have busted a seven-man gang that sells human parts for rituals in the state.

Abiodun Olamutu, the State Police Commissioner who confirmed the development claimed that evidence retrieved from the suspects included a human heart and two kegs filled with human parts.

The suspects arrested in connection to the unfortunate incident include Mooses Abidemi, Oluwo Monday, Prophet Peter Akiwunmi Ifatosin, Jamiu Yusuf, Sheriff Agbai, and Osojieahen Alioneitoura.

The police image maker added that on January 9, the Divisional Police Office in Onipanu got a report of a missing lady, Ms Sulaiimon Adijat, who was asked out on a date by one Adebayo Azeez.

He said, “Despite frantic efforts to locate her whereabouts, her mobile phone has been switched off since the day she was reported missing.

“Consequently, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the command was drafted to unravel the mystery behind her disappearance and a technical-based investigation was embarked on,” the CP said.

The police chief stated that an investigation found that the suspects were engaging in a money ritual known as ‘Oshole’ in order to generate N200 million within seven days.

“Oluwo Monday charged the duo of Agbai and Alioneitouria N800,000 to prepare the materials for the ritual.

“Oluwo Monday, in furtherance of his criminal intention, later contacted one Peter, who was not new in the trade of human parts, to source for a lady between the age of 18 and 20 years,” he added.

According to him, Peter was to send the lady’s mutilated body parts, namely the head, two breasts, vagina, and two wrists, for use in the ceremony

“However, on January 10, Sheriff and Osojieahen collected the ritual money from Oluwo and travelled back to their location in Edo State.

“Trouble started when Osojieahen used the ritual element as directed by Oluwo, and complained bitterly that it failed to yield the expected sum of 200 million in seven days.

“A search was conducted in the shrine of Moses on Feb. 3 and 10, where female handbags, and two cement sacks containing human bones were recovered,” he said.

Source: Ritualists Nabbed For Allegedly Killing Lady To Make N200m

And:

Police arrest prophets, herbalists over abduction, killing

Published: February 16, 2024
By: Vincent Osuwo – Chronicle, Nigeria

Two herbalists, Moses Abidemi and Oluwo Samuel Monday, as well as two alleged prophets of Cherubim and Seraph Church, Prophet Peter Oluwalolese and Prophet Jamiu Yusuf, have been paraded by the police over the brutal killing of one Sulaimon Adijat, aged 35, for money ritual purposes.

The Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, disclosed this while parading the suspects before newsmen at the command’s headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta, the state’s capital, on Thursday.

The police chief stated that the arrest of the suspects came after a lady, Sulaiman Adijat, was reported missing to the Onipanu Division of the police on January 9 after she allegedly received a call from a friend, Adebayo Azeez, who invited her on a date.

The police chief revealed that her family’s desperate efforts to trace her whereabouts have failed since her phone was turned off. When the police received the information, they dispatched an anti-kidnapping unit to investigate Adijat’s disappearance.

He stated that after a probe into the incident, the police learned that she was reportedly killed by a ritual syndicate hired by Sheriff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitouria to execute a money ritual for N200 million.

Alamutu said, “Investigation revealed that on November 19, 2023, one Sherifff Agbai,’m’, and Osojieahen Alioneitouria,’m’, contacted Oluwo Samuel Monday,’m’, a.k.a. Oluwo Mandela, to perform a money ritual known as ‘Oshole’ that can produce N200m within seven days, and Oluwo Samuel Monday charged the duo of Sherifff Agbai,’m’, and Osojieahen Alioneitouria,’m’, the sum of N800,000 and agreed to prepare the materials for the money ritual.

“Oluwo Samuel Monday,’m’, in furtherance of his criminal intention, later contacted one Peter Oluwalolese,’m’, who was not new in the trade of human parts, to source for a lady between the ages of 18 and 20 years to deliver her mutilated body parts, specifically the head, two breasts, virginal, and her two wrists that will be used for money ritual.

“Peter Oluwalolese’m’, who is an acclaimed prophet of a white garment church located in Ibadan, Oyo State, contacted another colleague of his, one Prophet Jamiu Yusuf’m’, a.k.a. Eri Moses, in Lagos State, who is notorious for the supply of human parts for ritual purposes.  Prophet Jamiu Yusuf further contacted one Abidemi Moses’m’ a.k.a. Asela, an herbalist at Atan Ota, Ogun State.”

Azeez was claimed to have invited Adijat on a date to a hotel in the Atan area after negotiating a payment of N300,000 to provide human parts for the syndicate. However, he was supposed to have taken Adijat to Moses’ shrine, where she was allegedly killed and her body dismembered, before moving to Moses’ residence, where the severed parts were purportedly waiting to be collected.

According to Alamutu, Oluwo took Adihjat’s bodily parts and burned them in a local pot before killing a ram to placate his soul.

However, conflict was said to have broken out among the syndicates when Agbai and Alioneitouria began grumbling that the ritual did not produce the desired results after they had completed the herbalists’ prescribed sacrifices. They were alleged to have regretted that the N200 million they intended to get from the ritual did not materialise.

The CP added, “A search was conducted in the shrine of Abidemi Moses on February 3, 2024, and ten female handbags, two 25-litre gallons containing human parts, one axe, and two cement sacks containing human bones were recovered from his shrine at Igbo Olomi, Atan Ota. The relative of the deceased later came to the police station and identified one of the 10 bags that were recovered as the handbag of their daughter, Sulaimon Adijat.”

The police commissioner stated that the apprehended suspects, Moses Abidemi, Oluwo Samuel Monday, Peter Oluwalolese, Akinwunmi Ifatosin, Prophet Jamiu Yusuf, Sheriff Agbai, and Osojieahen Alioneitouria, admitted to their roles in the crime.

“Meanwhile, all the arrested suspects confessed to the alleged crime and their roles. The investigation is ongoing to arrest other fleeing suspects, and the case will be charged to court as soon as the investigation is completed. Members of the public will be duly updated.

The exhibits recovered from the suspects are one axe, ten female handbags, three local pots, one wooden box containing money rituals, two Bagco bags containing human bones and human parts, two gallons containing human parts, criminal charms, the crown and staff of Oba Isegun Zone 1, Atan Ota, Ogun State, and the crown and staff of Oluwo Masote of Ifo Zone, Ogun State,” Alamutu said.

Source: Police arrest prophets, herbalists over abduction, killing

And:

Police arrest 7 suspected ritualists, recover human heart

Published: February 16, 2024
By: Kalu Idika – News Band, Nigeria

Police authorities in Ogun State on Thursday, arrested a seven-man gang that allegedly specialised in trading inhuman parts for rituals.

Mr Abiodun Olamutu, the commissioner of police said that a human heart and two kegs filled with human bodies were parts of exhibits recovered from the suspects.

The suspects include Moses Abidemi, Oluwo Monday, Prophet Peter Akiwunmi Ifatosin, Jamiu Yusuf, Sheriff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitoura, Alamutu said.

Alamutu said the Divisional Police Office, Onipanu, received a report of a missing lady, Ms Sulaiimon Adijat on Jan. 9 who was invited out on a date by one Adebayo Azeez.

“Despite frantic efforts to locate her whereabouts, the mobile phone has been switched off since the day she was reported missing.

“Consequently, the Anti Kidnapping Unit of the command was drafted to unravel the mystery behind her disappearance and a technical based investigation was embarked on,” the CP said.

According to him, the investigation revealed that the suspects were involved in money ritual known as ‘Oshole’ to produce N200m within seven days.

“Oluwo Monday charged the duo of Agbai and Alioneitouria N800,000 to prepare the materials for the ritual money.

“Oluwo Monday, in furtherance of his criminal intention, later contacted one Peter, who was not new in the trade of human parts, to source for a lady between the age of 18 and 20 years.

The CP said Peter was to deliver the lady’s mutilated body parts, specifically the head, two breasts, virginal and two wrists that would be used for the ritual.

“However, on Jan. 10, Sheriff and Osojieahen collected the ritual money from Oluwo and travelled back to their location in Edo State.

“Trouble started when Osojieahen used the ritual element as directed by Oluwo, and complained bitterly that it failed to yield the expected sum of 200 million in seven days.

”A search was conducted in the shrine of Moses on Feb. 3 and 10, where female handbags, two cement sacks containing human bones were recovered.”

The CP said that all the suspects confessed to the alleged crime and their individual roles.

He said that investigation was ongoing to arrest other fleeing suspects.

Source: Police arrest 7 suspected ritualists, recover human heart

And:

Police arrest 2 pastors, 5 others with human parts in Ogun

Published: February 16, 2024
By: Según Ojo – The Star, Nigeria

The operatives of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested two pastors and five other suspects who specialised in trading human parts for rituals in the state.

The Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, on Thursday, February 15, 2024, disclosed that a human heart and two kegs filled with human bodies were parts of exhibits recovered from the suspects.

The suspects arrested were Moses Abidemi, Oluwo Samuel, Prophet Peter Oluwalolese, Akinwunmi Ifatosin, Prophet Jamiu Yusuf, Sherif Agbai, and Osojieahen Alioneiouria.

Parading the arrested suspects at the police headquarters in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, Alamutu said they were involved in the killing of a 35-year-old woman, Sulaimon Adijat, for a ritual purpose.

He said the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Onipanu, on January 9, received a report about the sudden disappearance of Adijat who was invited out on a date by one Adebayo Azeez in the Atan Ota area of Ogun State.

The police commissioner stated that since then Adijat had not been seen despite frantic efforts to locate her whereabouts, adding that her mobile phone had been switched off since the day she was reported missing.

Alamutu said upon the report, he gave a matching order to the officer in charge of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit to unravel the mystery behind the woman’s disappearance.

He added: “The efforts of the crack detectives from Anti-Kidnapping paid off as seven suspects who were directly involved in the killing of Sulaimon Adijat were arrested after a technical-based investigation.

“Investigation further revealed that on the 19th November 2023, Sherif Agbai and Osojeiahen Alioneouria ‘m’ contacted Oluwo Samuel Monday to perform a money ritual known as ‘Oshole’ that can produce N2 million within seven days, and Oluwo Samuel Monday charged them for the sum of N800,000 and agreed to prepare the materials for ritual.

“Oluwo Samuel Monday in furtherance of his criminal intention later contacted one Peter Oluwalolese who was not new in the trade of human parts, to source for a lady between the age of 18 years to 20 years in order to deliver her mutilated body parts, specifically the head, two breast, private part and her two wrists that will be used for money ritual.

“Peter Oluwalolese who is acclaimed pastor of a white garment church located in Ibadan, Oyo State, also contacted another colleague of his, one Prophet Jamiu Yusuf a.k.a Eri Mose in Lagos State, who is notorious for the supply of human parts for ritual purpose.

“Prophet Jamiu Yusuf further contacted one Abidemi Moses a.k.a Asela, who is an herbalist at Ata Ota, Ogun State.

“Abidemi Moses requested the sum of N600,000 to get a lady that can be used for the money ritual. Oluwo Samuel Monday negotiated for the sum of N300,000 for the human body parts. Abidemi Moses is a herbalist and he serves as an apprentice to one Adebayo Olawale Azeez now at large, to harvest human parts for sale, a business he has enjoyed the proceeds for three years.

“Hence Adebayo Olawale Azeez surreptitiously invited Sulaimon Adijat to Sunshine Hotel, Atan Ota, and she was later taken to Abidemi Moses shrine at Igbi Olomi area of Atan Ota, Ogun State. She was killed by Abidemi Moses and others now at large, and her dismembered body parts were taken to Abidemi Moses’ house at Atan Ota to meet Oluwo Sameul Moday and Prophet Peter Oluwalolese who were waiting for the arrival of the body parts.

“A search was conducted in the shrine of Abidemi Moses on the 3rd of February, 2024, and ten female handbags, two 25 litres gallons containing human parts, one axe, and two cement sacks containing human bones were recovered from his shrine at Igbo Olomi, Atan Ota.”

The police commissioner disclosed that all the arrested suspects confessed to the alleged crime and their individual roles, noting that an investigation was ongoing to arrest other fleeing suspects.

Alamutu said the case will be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation.

Source: Police arrest 2 pastors, 5 others with human parts in Ogun

Nigeria – a questionable practice: Police parade suspected ritualists in Oyo State

A weird story from Oyo state, in Nigeria’s South West. The Oyo State Police arrested two men who were in the possession of a freshly cut human head. One of the suspected ritualists admitted that the human skull was to be used for ritual purposes (‘money rituals’).

Oyo State is located in the South West geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria is divided into six geopolitical zones commonly called zones. 

Oyo State is an inland state and Nigeria’s sixth most populous state (after Kano, Lagos, Katsina, Kaduna and Bauchi states) with an estimated 9 to 10 million people (2024) and ranks 14 by surface area with 28,454 km2

Ibadan is Oyo State’s capital and its most populous city, and Nigeria’s third (after Lagos and Kano). It’s population is estimated at close to 4 million people whereas in its metropolitan area an estimated 6 million people live, mainly Yoruba but also Igbo, Hausa, Edo and Ibibio from other parts of Nigeria. 

The practice of parading suspects of a serious crime is common in Nigeria, but considered unconstitutional by a number of legal experts. I have added a 2016 article elaborating on this view, following the first article below.
(FVDK)

Police parade suspected ritualists in Oyo State

Suspected cultists
(not related to the article)

Published: February 14 or 15, 2024
By: TVC News

The Oyo state police command has arrested two suspects who specialize in using Human Head and other vital Organs for Ritual Purpose.

The suspects were arrested in Saki town, and a human skull was recovered from them.

While addressing newsmen during the parade, the police spokesperson in Oyo state Adewale Osifeso revealed that the human Head was cut off from a freshly exhumed Corpse and a local pot containing some concoctions were recovered from the possession of the suspected Ritualists.

One of the suspects confessed that the harvested Human Skull was from a corpse at burial ground and was to be used for Money Rituals.

Source: Police Parade Suspected Ritualists, Killers Of Retired PS In Oyo

Read also:

Lawyers say parading of suspects unconstitutional

Published: August 28, 2016
By: Vanguard, Nigeria

Some Lagos-based lawyers have condemned parading of arrested suspects by the police, saying it is unconstitutional and damaging to the person involved.

They said that often those paraded were innocent and in the event of their being pronounced innocent by the courts of competent jurisdiction, the police never re-parade them.

Mr Olawale Apanisile, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that parading suspects undergoing investigation was illegal and could not be justified.

Apanisile said that parading suspects before the public and media as criminals was damaging to the reputation and personality of the individual.

He said that it was a violation of Section 34 (1) and 36 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

According to Apanisile, Section 34 states that every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person and (1) (a) no person shall be subject to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment.

“In a bid to show to the public that the police are working and are up to the task of safeguarding the country, they display suspects like medals and trophies to the media,’’ he said.

The lawyer said that during arrest, investigation and arraignment, the accused should be treated with respect as they were presumed innocent until proven guilty.

“The police and other law enforcement agents should treat an accused the same way they will treat any other law abiding citizens.

“Most Nigerians do not know their fundamental human rights, but if the police had been slammed with law suits by paraded suspects, then such impunity will not be the order of day.

“Some who know their rights are too scared to press charges,’’ he said.

He urged human rights activists to educate and come to the aid of the populace to put an end to the practice of media trial by the police.

“This practice must stop no matter how grievous the crime an accused committed.

“We should leave it to the courts to administer justice so that after the accused has been acquitted or convicted he can go back to living his life in peace,’’ he said.

Apanisile, however, said that the only time the law allowed for an accused to be paraded was during identification parade.

According to him, in identification parade, an accused will be placed with people who have similar physical appearance with him and paraded before witnesses to know if they will recognise the suspect.

“The parading of suspects before newsmen is not obtainable in Britain but in America, they do perpetrators walk commonly known as `perp walk’.

“In Britain, accused are brought to court in vehicle with tinted glasses which makes it impossible for the public to see them,’’ he said.

According to Wikipedia, perp walk is a common custom of American law enforcement, the practice of taking an arrested suspect through a public place at some point after arrest, creating an opportunity for the media to take photographs and video of the event.

Mr Chris Okani, urged the Nigerian police to stop the parade of suspected armed robbers and other alleged criminals before the public prior to arraignment.
Okani said that parading suspects by the police prior to charging them to court for trial and being found guilty was an aberration.

He also noted that a suspect was presumed innocent until proven otherwise by a court of law after full trial.

He said the police was only permitted to parade suspects if there was need for identification of the suspect by a witness who claims to have seen the suspect commit the alleged offence.

Mr Alozie Nwoke said: “The police are usually under pressure to clean up their image before the public and the Federal Government has given rise to this kind of practice.

“Owing to the pressure, suspects are often paraded so as to show that the police are working.

“The police then get some kind of approval that they are doing well but most times they parade innocent persons.

“Our law provides that every suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction’’.

The legal practitioners decried the act, saying that should the suspects be acquitted, the police would not re-parade them as being innocent.

Source: Lawyers say parading of suspects unconstitutional

Nigeria, Oyo State: Yahoo Boy stabs parents as black magic soap fails to yield fortune

The following is not about a ritual murder or a violent ritualistic act. It gives us an insight into the world of a Yahoo boy and the at times associated belief in the supernatural, the superstition, which also lies at the base of many if not all ritualistic murders. Yahoo boys engage in cybercrime and are notoriously known because of the “419 scam” (named after the Nigerian law’s article making it a punishable crime) or “Nigerian prince scam”.

I’ve reported before on the reported involvement of Yahoo boys in ritualistic crimes. See my posting dated January 9 (2024) including a 2022 statement by the Governor of Plateau State accusing Yahoo Boys being behind the increased ritual killings in this state in central Nigeria.

The reason for including this news article here is to throw some more light on the phenomenon of ‘Yahoo boys’, often mentioned on this site, as well to the pay attention to the general belief in magic by some people. Whether the Yahoo boy in question suffers from a mental illness, as suggested in the article, which may explain his aggressive behavior, is not certain but according to the boy’s father he is a normal person.

It all happened in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

Oyo State is located in located in the South West geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 
The Federal Republic of Nigeria is divided into six geopolitical zones commonly called zones. 

Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones

Ibadan is Oyo State’s capital and its most populous city, and Nigeria’s third (after Lagos and Kano). It’s population is estimated at close to 4 million people whereas in its metropolitan area an estimated 6 million people live, mainly Yoruba but also Igbo, Hausa, Edo and Ibibio from other part of Nigeria.

Oyo State is an inland state and Nigeria’s sixth most populous state (after Kano, Lagos, Katsina, Kaduna and Bauchi states) with an estimated 9 to 10 million people (2024) and ranks 14 by surface area with 28,454 km2.
(webmaster FVDK).

Oyo State: Yahoo Boy stabs parents as black magic soap fails to yield fortune

Published: January 27, 2024
By: Kalu Idika – NB News Band, Nigeria

Mr Daniel Bamidele, a 20-year-old man suspected to be a Yahoo Boy, has been arrested in Oyo State.

The he was nabbed after stabbing his parents on Thursday, January 25.

The Nation reported that Daniel’s mother, Titilayo, reportedly ran out of their home in Apabielesin area of Ibadan, Oyo State with serious injury, calling for help as her son sneaked into their home and attacked her and his father with a machete.

This attracted bystanders who hurriedly rushed into the house, held Daniel down and dispossessed him of the machete he had used to attack his parents.

Speaking after he had been held down and freed his father from his grip, Daniel explained that he had been earning a living from cybercrime otherwise called yahoo business for some time.

He said his parents were aware that he already built a three-bedroom bungalow from the proceeds of the cybercrime.

Daniel said he had promised that he would get a store for his mother and stock it with goods so she could become a big trader once he recorded a breakthrough.

He added that his mother and elder brother colluded to fleece him of the sum of N2.5 million despite the promise he made to get her a store and stock it with goods.

Daniel said, “I purposely lured my mother from a church programme she was attending, and as soon as we arrived home, I attacked her with a knife and was already inflicting cuts on her body when my father tried to save her from me.

“I attacked my father too because if I had not stabbed both of them, they would have succeeded in killing me.”

Speaking further on his reasons for attacking his mother and father with a knife, Daniel accused his mother of giving him a fake name which rendered useless the magic black soap he had secured from the priest of a white garment church.

He also noted that he made his elder brother his next of kin in his bank documentation but the same elder brother had been trying to play smart with his money.

He said, “I am a 200-level student of LAUTECH (Ladoke Akintola University of Technology) and I have built a three-bedroom bungalow from the money I made from doing yahoo business.

“I am angry with my parents, particularly my mother, for giving me a fake name instead of her real name.

“There is a particular black magic soap that I have been using lately. The soap was given to me by the priest of a white garment church named Mathew.

“I was the one who bought a generator for Pastor Mathew’s church around Ona Grammar School in Ogbomosho.

“The soap was meant to bring me good fortune, but there was the need for me to call my mother’s name into it before it could work.

“My mother told me that her name is Titilayo. But when I called the name into the soap, it did not work. Hence, I got angry and decided to stab her.”

Daniel’s mother, Titilayo, however said she did not collect any money from him.

She said, “I was called on the phone to come pick up my son from school at LAUTECH when he started exhibiting mental illness.

“When we got home, his father brought a native medicine home and gave him to use. He slept off after taking the medicine.

“However, when he woke up, he demanded the whereabouts of his phone and I told him I did not take his phone. He landed several blows on me.

“He is a liar; I did not collect any money from him.”

But Bamidele’s father accused his wife of being in the know of everything pertaining to how his son ventured into yahoo business and how he built a house from the money he made from the fraudulent activity.

“My wife was the one that indulged him (Daniel). She knew when her son started building a house, yet she did not tell me,” he said.

Source: Yahoo Boy stabs parents as black magic soap fails to yield fortune

More:

Ibadan: ‘Yahoo Boy’ Stabs Parents Over Failed Black Magic Soap

The internet fraudster, Yahoo boy, Daniel Bamidele who allegedly stabbed his parents

Published: January 27, 2024
By: Leadership News, Nigeria

A 20-year-old internet fraudster, identified as Daniel Bamidele, has attacked and stabbed his parents over his mother’s refusal to reveal her real name, necessary for activating a black ritual soap that was supposed to bring him riches.

The incident occurred in the Bamideles’ Apabielesin home in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, when Daniel, enraged by his mother’s actions, assaulted both his parents with a machete. His mother, Titilayo, managed to escape and raise an alarm, leading to the intervention of bystanders who subdued Daniel and disarmed him.

According to Daniel, his parents were aware of his involvement in cybercrime, from which he claimed to have built a three-bedroom bungalow.

He accused his mother and elder brother of cheating him out of N2.5 million, frustration over his mother providing a false name, which rendered his ritual soap, which he said was given to him by a white garment church priest, ineffective. The soap, he added, was intended to bring good fortune but required his mother’s real name for activation.

“I purposely lured my mother from a church programme she was attending, and as soon as we arrived home, I attacked her with a knife and was already inflicting cuts on her body when my father tried to save her from me,” he said in a report by the Nation.

“I attacked my father too because if I had not stabbed both of them, they would have succeeded in killing me.”

Source: Ibadan: ‘Yahoo Boy’ Stabs Parents Over Failed Black Magic Soap

Map showing Nigeria’s 36 states – Oyo State os located in the southwest.

Nigeria: Ritualists threaten popular broadcaster Olayinka Joel Ayefele over airing activities on radio

On more than one occasion I stated here on this site that the worst African country in terms of the occurrence of ritualistic murders and related activities – labelled ‘money rituals’ in this country, Africa’s most populated country – is Nigeria, West Africa. The number of ritualistic killings in Nigeria, often committed by so-called Yahoo Yahoo boys, is sky-high and often I even find it difficult to keep pace with the number of reported ‘money rituals’.

Recently, a popular broadcaster, Olayinka Joel Ayefele, interviewed the survivor of a recent kidnapping that occurred in Ibadan, Oyo State. After the broadcast he received threats from an unknown person cautioning him to refrain from discussing the activities of ritualists and kidnappers on air.

Of course, there is no way to give in to threats from criminals. Freedom of the media or freedom of the press as well as the freedom of speech – and the freedom from fear – are fundamental human rights. Every individual and state actor should vigorously defend these rights.

Read the full story below.
(Webmaster FVDK)

EXCLUSIVE : Ritualists threaten popular broadcaster Olayinka Joel Ayefele over airing activities on radio

Published: December 15, 2023
By: Daud Olatunji, Abeokuta – Platform Times, Nigeria

In a chilling revelation, Nigerian music producer, gospel singer, and radio presenter, Olayinka Joel Ayefele, has come forward with a spine-tingling encounter with suspected ritualists and kidnappers.

 Ayefele, who hosts the popular radio programme “Oriyomi,” disclosed that he received a warning from an unknown number, cautioning him to refrain from discussing the activities of ritualists and kidnappers on air.

The incident unfolded during Ayefele’s Sunday evening programme, where he featured a survivor of a recent kidnapping that occurred in Ibadan. 

The victim, who mysteriously escaped from the clutches of ritualists, shared his harrowing experience of being kidnapped in Ibadan and later found in Ijebu-Ode.

The musician expressed concern for the victims of ritual killings, emphasizing that those who came on air during his program were there to thank God for their safety and survival.

Ayefele, undeterred by the threats, asserted, “I am concerned about the victims that have gone missing. God help us.”

The situation escalated when Ayefele’s personal assistant, Peter, revealed that he had been receiving threat messages for days. The use of private numbers to convey the warnings left Ayefele and his team deeply unsettled.

PLATFORM TIMES observed that the  use of private numbers to convey the warnings left Ayefele and his team deeply unsettled the musician.

Ayefele recounted, “a  few weeks ago, during a broadcast in Ibadan, I made statements and received a call warning me, ‘Mr. Ayefele, you are a musician; focus on your music. 

“What concerns do you have about kidnappers?’ I responded, explaining that survivors came to express gratitude. They insisted I focus on my music and broadcasting.”

“When questioned about my concern for ritual killing victims, they asked if they were my family. I clarified they were not, and the warning came through a private number, causing fear.

” I immediately contacted Peter, my Personal Assistant, who confirmed receiving threat messages for days and said he wanted  me to hear  the warning directly.”

“Aired testimonies were from those thanking God for safety. My primary concern lies with the missing victims. God help us in this distressing situation.”

Source: EXCLUSIVE : Ritualists Threaten Broadcaster Over Airing Activities On Radio

Nigeria: Money rituals explained – Money ritual seekers’ dark walk into deceit, misery

The following article is highly recommended reading, excellent work by Victor Ayeni!

In Nigeria, nearly every day ‘money rituals’ are reported, maybe not surprising in view of the country’s large population of well over 200 million people – Africa’s largest – even though just one ritual murder is already one too much. However, on the other hand, it could well be that the cases known and reported are only the tip of an iceberg.

But what do we know about ‘money rituals’, as ritual murders are being called in this part of the African continent? Most articles reporting on these crimes, which are driven by greed – for power, prestige or wealth – and based on superstition, are superficial. It is hard to find an article which treats this phenomenon in depth and in a serious way. The Nigerian journalist Victor Ayeni has done a great job and he’s to be commended for this achievement.

The traditional history of ritualistic killings and human sacrifices point to protection of the community’s interest by sacrificing one of its members. Cruel as this might be in our eyes nowadays, in the 21st century, back then relatives of the victim may have been proud of their family member’s contribution to the community.
We see nowadays in many parts of the African continent that the ritualistic act which demands the death of the victim is for the (pretended, aimed) benefit of one person only who thus wants to increase his or her power, wealth or health. Moreover, the victim is often picked at random. Involuntary, the victim is attacked and tortured, what results is a gruesome, a wicked crime. Sometimes, specific groups are targeted, e.g. people with albinism, hunchbacks or bald people.

In some countries ambitious politicians tend to resort to these practices in the hope of increasing their political chances and success, resulting an increase in ritual murders during election campaigns. It’s a shocking reality – even though we don’t known the full scale of it.

‘Money rituals’ in Nigeria show another characteristic: some people consider it a business model, which enables them to ‘earn’ money from superstitious people who believe that by using another man’s organs or other body parts, ‘juju’ will be created, to their personal benefit.

Victor Ayeni explains well how this works in Nigeria. A very informative article which ends with the question ‘Are money rituals real or a fiction?’

The reader may answer this question for him- or herself after reading Ayeni’s valuable article.
(webmaster FVDK)

Money ritual seekers’ dark walk into deceit, misery

Published: March 18, 2023
By: Victor Ayeni, Punch – Nigeria

VICTOR AYENI explores the subject of money ritual in popular culture, religious houses, and Nollywood movies, why the purveyors of the belief succeed in deceiving youths, and its implications on the public

The apprehension in the air was so thick that one could cut through it with a knife as Olajide (surname withheld) narrated his journey through a maze of confusion.

The 27-year-old graduate was helping a friend manage a pig farm in Osogbo, Osun State, when another friend introduced him to Internet scam, which in Nigerian lingo is called Yahoo Yahoo.

But his experience shocked the wits out of him.

“I was being paid N10,000 per month at the farm, but the money couldn’t meet my needs as time went on, so a friend of mine bought me an iPhone and from there, I was introduced to Yahoo Yahoo.

“I started off on a neutral ground and I was getting little money from my clients (victims), but after like three months into it, things became so tough that I couldn’t fend for myself again. I explained my situation to a friend and he took me to an Alfa (cleric),” Olajide recalls, shaking his head in disbelief.

This Alfa was known in Yahoo boys’ circles to be adept in the art of money magic – an occult economy that involves the performance of rituals to supernaturally conjure money.

Abode of fear

When Olajide described his financial difficulties to the Alfa, he was given two options.

“Alfa said he would help me out with small osole. I asked what he meant by that and he explained that osole (spiritual assistance) is different from oso (human body parts).

“Alfa told me oso required the use of human parts for material wealth with repercussions such as untimely death or insanity, whereas osole required the use of plants and animals for the same purpose but with lesser repercussions like being poor. I opted for osole,” he added.

Olajide was instructed to pay a sum of N12,000 into the cleric’s bank account for the materials and return in four days.

Five days later, when Olajide put a call through to the Alfa, he was asked to return for the materials.

He said, “When I got there, he gave me a small black soap and told me to find small palm oil and go to a flowing river to bathe that I had to cleanse myself first before I would use the materials.

“He explained to me that the soap was made with pepper mixed with some herbs and directed me to rub the palm oil on my body first before bathing with the soap. He warned that if I didn’t use the palm oil first, I was going to disappear and I would not be seen again. So, I did as I was told.”

Olajide said he complied with all the instructions.

“When I went back to him, he gave me three different materials: a soap to bath with every morning by 4am, a potion which I must swallow daily after taking my bath, and a powdery mixture to be licked every night before I go to bed.

“He said the herbal concoction was made from animals like crow, chameleon, cat, pigeon, and some leaves. He also told me that I would experience more hardship during the first two or three months of using the ritual materials, but I should endure it because after that, the tide will turn and money will be flowing in from my clients,” he added.

The idea of recipients conjuring money through magic is a familiar theme in many Nigerian films and religious houses.

Whether through animal sacrifices or trafficking in human parts, it is erroneously believed that these rites bring stupendous wealth to those who practice them.

When our correspondent inquired from Olajide if the magic worked, and in what specific ways the money came to him, he was silent.

When he spoke, he recalled faithfully following all the instructions given to him, but for the next two months, as the cleric predicted, he experienced serious financial hardship.

At this point, he said his friend introduced him to a client (victim), who had been defrauded several times.

Olajide then began to siphon money from the victim.

The inexplicable ease with which his ‘client’ gave him money implied that he (client) had been hypnotised.

“I ended up getting plenty money from this client. The cleric had assured me of having lots of money from osole, but he advised me to return to him for an upgrade of the ritual by paying N450,000, saying I would be making millions of naira after using the alleged ‘upgraded’ soap.

“But I didn’t go back because I asked my friend who took me there about what the new upgrade entails since that was what he did, and he warned me sternly against it because of the repercussions behind it.

“He said once I bathe with the ‘upgraded’ soap the cleric would prescribe, I could only wear the clothes and shoes I had and I must not change them for the next two years,” he added.

Four months after he dabbled in osole, Olajide realised that his fortunes began to dwindle as reality pulled the plug on his gravy train.

He said, “Things suddenly turned sour after four months. The client I was getting money from was arrested and ended up in jail and I no longer had any financial link. I ended up becoming more broke than before.

“My friend found me another client but I ended up wasting money rather than gaining some. Then, I was taken to another voodoo practitioner. This one said he would perform a ritual for me but one of its conditions was that I must never have sex with more than one girlfriend for the next three years and if I did otherwise, I would run mad.

“It was then I decided to withdraw from this stuff and went back into teaching for some time. Later on, I was introduced to the crypto business that I now do.”

The poverty factor

The belief in gaining wealth through mystical practices has gained much appeal over the decades in Nigeria with the exponential rise in poverty and lack of equal economic opportunities, especially for young people.

According to the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index Survey released by the National Bureau of Statistics, 63 per cent of Nigerians, which account for 133 million citizens, are multi-dimensionally poor due to a lack of access to health, education, living standards, employment, and security.

The unemployment rate in Nigeria has not only increased constantly in the past years, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group has also projected that the country’s unemployment rate will hit 37 per cent in 2023.

However, investigations by Saturday PUNCH showed that many Nigerians fervently believe that they can make a lot of money regardless of the dire economic situations in the country through a supernatural supply of money.

Ritual killings

In Nigeria, there are various tales around wealth creation that foster the concept of one becoming rich through the manipulation of metaphysical forces in nature.

 Among the Yoruba, South-West Nigeria, there is the aworo phenomenon that is believed to draw large patronage to a trader in a marketplace.

There is also awure (wealth booster) which can be prepared as a traditional soap or concoction.

Research shows that many Nigerians plank their belief in money rituals on mostly unverified reports.

This has drawn many into desperate measures, including taking the lives of close family members and friends.

In December 2021, a suspected Internet fraudster from Edo State, identified only as Osas, allegedly murdered his girlfriend, Elohor Oniorosa, for ritual purposes.

In November 2022, another Yahoo boy, alongside his herbalist, one Ike, aka Ogenesu, was arrested after policemen recovered suspected human parts at the herbalist’s place in Obiaruku, in the Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State.

But Ogun State appeared to have the highest number of reported incidents of such killings.

For instance, the state recorded at least 15 cases of ritual killings between January 2022 and 2023.

In January, the Ogun State Police Command arrested a 36-year-old herbalist, Taiwo Ajalorun, who reportedly confessed to the gruesome killing of a 26-year-old mother of two and two others in the Ijebu Ode area of the state.

On December 28, 2022, in the Ijebu-Ode area of the state, a gang reportedly killed three women, including a girlfriend of one of them, after sleeping with her.

In February 2022, two suspected criminals who were alleged to be ritualists were set ablaze by an angry mob for being in possession of human parts in Oja-Odan in the Yewa-North Local Government Area of the state.

Also, in October 2022, two suspected Internet fraudsters allegedly killed a 40-year-old man, Abdullahi Azeez, in Owode-Egba.

But probably the most pathetic was that of some teenagers who were caught burning the head of a female, Sofia, whom they killed for money ritual in the Oke Aregba area of Abeokuta.

One of the teenagers, Soliu Majekodunmi, who was Sofia’s boyfriend, said in January 2022 that he learnt the practice through Facebook.

Majekodunmi said he typed, ‘How to make money ritual’ on Facebook and got the details, adding that the link instructed him to behead and burn a female skull in a local pot.

Shaman or sham man?

Our correspondent found many Facebook accounts and groups created for seekers of money rituals.

Most of the social media pages had photographs of new naira notes placed in African traditional pots, calabashes, and cowrie-strewn bags, and some showed animal blood splattered on the ground around them.

Posing as a school teacher, our correspondent reached out to one of the acclaimed shamans, Babatunde (surname withheld), who resided in Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State.

In his response, he introduced his shrine as the ‘Arab Money Family’ and sent his phone number to our correspondent.

In a rather confident tone, Babatunde said, “If you are ready, even if it is this night, you will pay me and I will get the materials ready to start the ritual work for you. Most of my ritual work is done overnight and by tomorrow, it will be completed and your money will come out.

“You will send me your bank account, photograph, and full name, and you will be receiving money in your account. You will be receiving cash thrice every two weeks.”

When our correspondent inquired whether it is spirits that would be sending the money, he interjected in a mildly exasperated tone, “Listen, I will prepare the money here in my shrine and the money will be entering your account.”

He sent his ritual material price list and asked our correspondent to select the amount of money he wishes to receive in his bank account.

The list says, “N15,500 for N200,000; N20,000 for N300,000; N30,500 for N500,000; N50,000 for N1million; N75,000 for N5million; N90,000 for N20million; and N120,000 for N50 million.”

When our correspondent selected “N20,000 for N300,000,” he reiterated that his brand of ‘money magic’ utilises native materials instead of human blood.

“I make money without human blood and I only make use of native materials. I only make use of materials called ‘Cash of Hope’ and the ‘Money Drawer Oil.’

“Mind you, my work does not require any side effects or human being blood for sacrifice or repercussions, okay? Never say never to the high spirit.

“You don’t need to travel down for the ritual; I will just send them to you and you will get your money, but you must come down to my shrine with a token of appreciation for my work, any amount your heart chooses,” Babatunde added.

When the reporter complained about being unable to afford the cost of the ritual material, the magician urged him to find the money by any means possible and contact him when ready.

Babatunde was also observed to regularly post videos on his Facebook and WhatsApp statuses featuring ‘clients’ who claim to have acquired money through his rituals but the veracity of their claims could not be confirmed.

The second acclaimed money magician, who resides in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, goes by the Facebook name, Iya Ifa Bomi.

In this case, our correspondent posed as a greenhorn ‘Yahoo boy’ and asked her for spiritual assistance in order to obtain money from his ‘clients.’

She said, “You mean you are talking to your clients and they are not giving you money? I can perform a ritual for you and it will involve the use of big Titus fish, pepper, and some fresh leaves, but it will cost you N25,000.

“When you have the money, you can come to Ogbomoso and pick up the materials. I will prepare them for you. I have done this for many Yahoo boys like you and they all come back to testify that their clients are cooperating although some of them are ingrates. We also have some of us who do this work who are scammers and have made people not trust our works.”

Another cleric contacted by our correspondent, Alfa Abdulmumeen Aremu, advertised himself as a practitioner of “money rituals for engineers, contractors, business owners and ‘Yahoo boys.’”

He first demanded a sum of N2,000 and told our correspondent to send his full name and his mother’s name for spiritual consultation before he could recommend osole to him.

In a voice note, he explained, “There are different types of osole and I perform them for people like you, so don’t worry, I am adept in this work. Send me those things first and I will do some consultations to know your destiny in five minutes and I will revert to you.”

Our correspondent sent him a pseudonym along with the name of his late grandmother.

After some minutes, Aremu sent a voice note saying, “I can see you have a very bright destiny but you have some enemies. They are divided into two: some from your family and others from your workplace.

“You will cook ritual meals like rice and semo with tasty stew and give them to the children in your community. They will eat it with relish, and some of them will go to sleep. After you do that, you will be spiritually clean and we can proceed to the next stage.”

Divergent beliefs 

A student of Business Administration, Kazeem Akinpelu, says money rituals are real.

“If they have not been working, people will no longer be practicing them. I grew up in Ibadan, Oyo State, and I know of a market where they sell human parts at night.

“The people selling in this particular market practice voodoo and they are patronised by those who perform money rituals. There was also one time the body parts of a lynched motorcyclist here in Ibadan were used by ritualists,” he added.

However, a civil servant, Nnamdi Okeke, dismissed money rituals as a fantasy that existed only in the realm of make-believe.

“Well, I have not come across any money rituals and I haven’t thought of doing such either. I don’t believe there is anything like ‘blood money.’

“Someone can watch a film and tell you the story, but no cult will tell you what to bring if you have not passed through their ranks, and that is if such things exist, because I don’t believe in them. The question is, the person who wants to make you rich, why is he poor and even why are their  children not rich?” he asked.

Similarly, a medical scientist, Mike Okechukwu, said the whole concept of ritual killing boiled down to superstition.

“People would believe what they want to believe to obtain money. Desperate people will employ desperate measures. For me though, I don’t think ritual killings are effective; I have not seen any proof to make me believe so. It all boils down to superstition,” he stated.

But a sales representative, who gave her name as Judith for security reasons, said she once dated a man whom she believed was involved in such rituals.

She said, “I was dating this Yahoo-Yahoo guy and one day, I visited him unannounced and found that he didn’t want me to go inside his room. He was just acting weird that day.

“But while I stood at the door, he didn’t know I saw a native pot placed on the floor. From that day on, I began to suspect him and that was what made me leave him eventually because I don’t want anybody to use me for money rituals.”

Money ritual mirage

Commenting on popular beliefs about money rituals, a Professor of Philosophy of Religion at the Lagos State University, Danoye Oguntola-Laguda, said herbalists appeal to Internet scammers for pecuniary gain.

He said, “My experience is that there is nothing called money rituals. What many people mistake for money rituals is the prayer for getting rich. That could definitely involve some sacrifices of animals or birds or cooking for the whole community (saara) which brings the blessing of feeding multitudes and people may not be able to determine how you become rich.

“I don’t want to say that those who believe in osole or perform oso are wrong because there are a lot of myths that point in that direction, but if you ask many of them to tell you or show you the real thing, you will see that they have nothing to show.

“I want to say that most of these traditionalists do not even know that those who consult them are ‘Yahoo boys.’ They just see them as people seeking a way to be rich and they do a ritual, pray for them and tell them to go and kill one goat. The babalawos are also human beings who have families to feed so when they see a victim with such a proposal, they grab it with both hands.”

Oguntola-Laguda also explained the difference between religious practice and occultism.

“Religion is experiential; it is about your experience. If I tell you that prayer doesn’t work, it’s because I tried it and it didn’t work and if I tell you that it works, it’s because I tried it and it worked for me.

“There is a need to separate occultism from religious practices. Occultism is the appropriation of spiritual agents, who in most cases are negative, and it’s not limited to African traditional religion; it is something that cuts across the board.

“Many religious people appropriate these negative spiritual agents for these money rituals and power to be able to do things that are extraordinary, like the power to be able to tell the sun to go down or to tell the rain to stop.

“So, it is occult people that will tell you that they will make you rich and invite a spiritual agent to do that for you but they always come with a price and that is what many people have come to call oso or osole.

“In the past, in Yoruba traditional society, the wizard who is called oso doesn’t mean he is rich but has power appropriated through spiritual agents that he deploys for good or evil of society,” he added.

Nollywood magical realism

The scenarios of materially wealthy people enmeshed in sinister rituals and pacts with spirits, is a recurring theme in Nollywood plots.

Findings by Saturday PUNCH revealed that whether in the predominantly Muslim North or the largely Christian South, many religious Nigerians believe in the reality of an unseen world, and the fictive representations from Nollywood plots have heavily shaped their perceptions of reality.

A Nollywood screenwriter, Mr Abiola Omolokun, argued that the depictions of money rituals in films are a true representation of Yoruba culture.

He said, “First, I don’t write such stories, but they are true representations of reality. Money rituals are real and are reflected in our cultural beliefs; they are not fiction.

“We tell a story just to teach morals and make people see things differently. Our stories make them know that for every action, there are consequences.

“Through our movies, we teach that patience is a virtue that youths need to walk on the right path, and in due time, with hard work and perseverance, everything will lead to success.”

However, a researcher in African Studies, Akin Faleye, contended that such stories lack historical precedent and are fraudulent.

“As a student of global history, I will say that there is no evidence that the Yoruba practised money rituals in the pre-colonial time. All these stories of money rituals are fraudulent and emanated from psychopaths rather than people with some actual spiritual knowledge of how to make money,” he stated.

Money rituals in other cultures

In some other cultures, what could be termed as money rituals are often symbolic acts or dramas that appeal to psychological and cosmic powers through an application of symbolic structures.

In Ireland, there is a tradition of taking a piece of straw from the nativity scene/crib in the church at Christmas and keeping it in your purse or wallet, which is believed to bring financial prosperity throughout the year.

An Indian author, Suresh Padmanabhan, in his work, I Love Money, devoted a chapter to ‘Money rituals’ and wrote, “Take a currency note in your hand and wish it ‘Good morning.’ “Express gratitude to your wallet, accounts book, cash box, bank passbook, or any other tools connected directly to money. Smile at yourself in the mirror and pat yourself when you perform a task well.”

Some practitioners in western traditions also perform what they define as money spells/rites, which involve the invocation of spirits and archangels, drawing ritual circles, erecting a temple and an altar, and presenting offerings to ancient deities.

However, these rituals are often believed and practiced by religious groups on the fringes and are based on cultural paradigms that only allow clearly defined routes of financial access through hard work, lucrative business, and clever exploitation of market gaps.

Lamenting the lack of profitable skills available to Nigerian youths, a United Kingdom-based personal development coach, Mr Toyyib Adelodun, highlighted the need for popular magical ideas about money to be refuted.

“Nigerian youths need to understand that money is a unit of account to measure, therefore the more value you produce for the community, the richer you are supposed to be. So, the first thing a young person should seek is education and skills to earn money.

“Money is always circulating in an economy. It is the Central Bank of Nigeria that prints money, it doesn’t come from anywhere else. We saw a practical example of this recently when the CBN embarked on the naira redesign and there wasn’t enough money in circulation. So, there is no magic that is going to bring money from anywhere unless you offer your skills as a person of value.

“I have been to several countries in the world and I can see that money only comes from value creation. Unfortunately, Nigerian youths are not equipped with the relevant skills; we just go to religious houses to pray and sit back at home and don’t market skills or deliver an excellent service in order to generate wealth. We don’t have to resort to crimes,” he said.

Clerics urge re-orientation

A Senior Pastor at Christ Life Church, Ibadan, Prof. Wale Coker, told Saturday PUNCH the youth need a re-orientation that would see them embrace a new value system other than the present mad rush to become wealthy overnight.

“The scriptures state that ‘wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished, but he that gathers by labour shall increase’. Youths should be encouraged to walk in the fear of God which is the beginning of wisdom,” he added.

The National Missioner of the Ansar-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Shiekh, Abdur-Rahman Ahmad, stated, “All those who claim to be Muslims and Alfas that are involved in money rituals know within their hearts that they are doing something wrong and deceiving people.

“The reality is that there is no money ritual. It is not only against the letter and spirit of the laws of Islam but also against human conscience. Islam recognises only three sources of legitimate wealth: direct labour or hard work, inheritance, and a legitimate gift and this doesn’t mean a Greek gift or bribe or something induced.”

On her part, a traditionalist, Omitonade Ifawemimo, said, “There is no shortcut in Isese (traditional spirituality). If you don’t work, you won’t be wealthy. Nollywood and the fantasy it creates bears responsibility for the concept of money rituals.

“Human sacrifice for money rituals does not exist in Isese. It is fake, madness, and a scam! It’s tragic that Yoruba movies have messed up people’s thinking into believing all these lies.”

Source: Money ritual seekers’ dark walk into deceit, misery

Nigeria: The illusion of money-making rituals

“It is time we put an end to these barbaric practices.” 

What can I add to this cry for the rule of law, to respect human life, and to act. Governments can no longer ignore these barbaric practices based on superstition, poverty and ignorance, and fed by greed. The numerous examples of ritual murders given in this Op-Ed are frightening: all over the country though I’ve pointed at the widespread occurrence of ritual murders in Nigeria in previous postings (webmaster FVDK).

The Illusion of money-making rituals in Nigeria – Editorial

Published: February 20, 2023
By: Editorial – This Day, Nigeria

Ritual killing remains largely a crime driven by ignorance and poverty

The recent arrest of two teenagers by operatives of the Edo State Security Vigilante Network has once again brought into sharp focus the bizarre practice of money rituals. The young men were apprehended following a tipoff by the female herbalist from whom they sought help in their desperate bid for wealth through diabolical means. But they are not alone. Just recently, some young men were reported to have stormed a health centre in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti state capital, asking for day-old babies. The unanswered question remains: What do they want to do with day-old babies? We can hazard a guess. They must belong to the growing group of desperadoes murdering innocent people, particularly women, children and sometimes the physically challenged, for ritual purposes.

These murderers, sometimes called headhunters, can go to any extent in the search of body parts for money-making rituals. And they are all over the country. Not long ago, there was a shocking discovery of three human heads inside a hotel room in the commercial city of Onitsha, Anambra State. The three heads said to have been kept inside polythene bags were reportedly discovered by police officers following a raid on the hotel. Eleven persons suspected to be kidnappers or ritualists were arrested but typically, nothing was ever heard again about the case. At about the same time, the police in Kagura in Rafi Local government area of Niger State arrested four people in connection with the alleged murder of a 13-year-old son of an Islamic scholar. They reportedly lured the young boy to a secluded area where they removed his intestines and other vital organs after he had been murdered.

So rampant is this crime that in cosmopolitan cities like Lagos, Ibadan, Benin City and Kano, cases of ritual murders have now become commonplace. Indeed, incidence of ritual killings is said to account for many missing people in the country. But illiteracy is also a great factor in this crime. Even though the belief lacks common sense, many people indulge in these bestial acts for the purpose of making “instant wealth”, what some have aptly dubbed “blood money”. Yet, it is difficult to prove that these sacrifices, done at the instruction of some crafty traditional medicine practitioners and witch doctors, can catapult people from penury into instant wealth. At least, for now, there is no single person that can be named to have become rich because of human sacrifices, except the characters in some Nollywood movies.  So, to that extent, ritual killing remains largely a crime driven by ignorance and poverty.

Meanwhile, the old image of the country as a citadel of humanitarianism, peacefulness, fraternity, cultural and moral renaissance seems blurred. There is disorderliness and chaos everywhere. Amid the moral confusion, it is difficult for many young Nigerians to understand that work comes before wealth. The estrangement from pristine values now finds dramatic expression in crass materialism, inordinate ambition to get rich quick at all costs. But on the prevalence of money rituals, this is also a law-and-order failure. Indeed, the increasing cases of abduction and killing of many innocent men, women and children is a poignant reminder that the police and the other security agencies have not sent a forceful message on what awaits the perpetrators of such a most heinous crime. The largely indifferent treatment of those caught has encouraged the commitment of more crime.

This is an issue that the relevant authorities must deal with and very quickly. There is also an urgent need for enlightenment campaigns to put a lie to the erroneous belief that money can grow out of the body parts of murdered people. It is time we put an end to these barbaric practices. 

Source: Illusion of money-making rituals

Inside the world of Nigeria’s deadly money ritualists where human parts are traded like commodities (Part I)

I am flabbergasted after reading this investigative report of a courageous reporter who posed as a desperate internet fraudster who wants to ‘get-rich-quick’ by contacting herbalists tracked online. Her experiences are amazing!

It is hard to believe this happens in real life. Judge for yourself.
(webmaster FVDK)

Inside the world of Nigeria’s deadly money ritualists where human parts are traded like commodities (Part I)

From the left: Initial preparation as sent by Ifatunde; Ifatunde preparing the money-making charm and Oladipupo

Published: May 13, 2022
By: Segun Adesina – Punch, Nigeria

The craze for getting stupendously rich through the senseless killing of humans for rituals has reached an alarming crescendo in Nigeria. The phenomenon has thrown families of victims into untold anguish. For two months, posing as a desperate internet fraudster searching for mystical means to acquire wealth, our reporter, using the pseudo name, SEGUN ADESINA, met with herbalists tracked online for help

What was uncovered was a frightening, sadistic romance involving young men, voodoo, and traditionalists that are ready markets for booming human parts harvesters.

Oladipupo Olalere looked remarkably fresh for an herbalist. His eyes were fixated on a book of mystics propped on his lap. Not even the presence of a potential customer could distract him. He only managed to nod his head to acknowledge the presence of our correspondent, pointed to a weather-beaten wooden bench and went on to flip through the pages of the book, mumbling inanities.

The 30-year-old plies his trade somewhere inside the densely populated area of Oja-Oba in Ibadan, Oyo State. His shrine is a ramshackle building sandwiched between two old structures with brown corrugated iron sheets. His dimly lit room was littered with fetish objects, mostly wrapped in red cloth. While some were displayed on wooden tables, others thickly coated with dust, hung loosely on the dirt-stained wall. Inside the room, which was crammed with other odd-looking objects, was an area demarcated with a cream cloth.

Staring at the space generated an eerie feeling as it oozed secrecy. From all indications, it was not meant for prying eyes. Before the visit, our correspondent had been in talks with the herbalist, who has over four thousand followers “liking and sharing” his fetish suggestions.

Known as Ifatunde Ifayemi on Facebook, his timeline is littered with adverts beckoning on individuals interested in all manner of charms, especially those that hold great promises for individuals seeking avenues to get rich mysteriously.

With his page, a beehive of interactions, he constantly fed fans with content that boasts his mystical powers and deep-rooted traditional beliefs. With flagrant disregard for identity protection, he flaunts his clients as a way to prove his success rate as a money-ritual guru.

It was from one of his posts that our correspondent got his phone number and began a negotiation that, with time, led to a face-to-face meeting.

Initially, when the conversation was initiated, the picture painted by our correspondent to Oladipupo was one of a frustrated Yahoo boy (Internet fraudster) faced with a life of struggle and lack, and was ready to stake his neck to hit the goldmine through money ritual.

Oladipupo flanked on both sides by two clients

A journey into the mysterious

Excited by the call from not only a new client but one ready to go the whole hog, Oladipupo, with-no-holds barred, revealed and explained coded traditional terminologies, which he said were only known by money ritual underdogs.

PUNCH Investigations gathered from him that various types of money rituals had their attached consequences. Oladipupo said the two in high demand were ‘Osole Gbigbona,’ which required human parts, and ‘Osole Tutu,’ the one prepared with animal parts.

Following promises by our correspondent to ensure a huge return after hitting it big and sensing his desperation, the herbalist voluntarily opted to prepare the ‘Osole Gbigbona’ money ritual.

While still marketing the extraordinary potency of this particular charm, he warned that it would cost quite a lump sum of money. Still, he refused to divulge the amount on the phone. Oladipupo later gave our correspondent an address in Ibadan for a physical meeting to finalise the arrangement.

Meeting days later, Oladipupo ranted about popularly held perceptions on the potency of money rituals and boasted about a sizeable number of Nigerians he had made stupendously rich. The conversation, which was more of a self-advertisement, appeared to be a mind-playing gimmick meant to mentally prepare our correspondent for what was ahead.

He said, “Osole Gbigbona is real. Some are more potent and effective than others. I have done so many money rituals. From Abuja to Abakaliki, I transfer the charms. I have clients abroad and send the charms through courier,” he boasted with a glint in his eyes.

Oladipupo said he relocated to Ibadan from Ogun State because of the huge patronage he enjoys from mostly young Internet fraudsters.

He said, “I have more customers in Ibadan than Ijebu Ode. You know that a prophet is not respected in his own town. I have customers that sometimes lodge in hotels for weeks, and when it’s time to eat the concoction made for them or to collect the charms, they will come to my place. Two friends came to me from Abuja and another from Abakaliki. I posted about them on my timeline,” he said.

A vivid description of the individuals matched some uploaded pictures discovered on his Facebook page by PUNCH Investigations.

The actual cost of money rituals made with human parts

Delving deeper into the mystery, Oladipupo explained what each money ritual entailed and asked our correspondent, “Do you want the one that will yield money immediately or that which would make people start rendering monetary favours to you?

“There is money-making soap that will be prepared for you with parts of a dead body. When bathing with it, the dead body will appear. You may not see the spirit, but you will hear words like ‘give me my head or give me my flesh,’ depending on the part used. The potion prepared with body parts is more potent than those made with the head of lizards or other animals.”

Our correspondent asked for the cost after Oladipupo’s earlier advice to go for the money ritual prepared with human parts due to its efficacy.

Ingredients for rituals bought by Ifatunde.

“Osole Gbigbona will cost you N250, 000. I am offering you this charm at a cheap price. If you can get me the money, you will have so much money within one week. You will see money and become afraid,” he blurted with accompanying incantations.

The herbalist further boasted that the charm prepared with human parts can last for three years, adding, “By the time it expires, you would have made more than enough money.”

Asked if there are accompanying repercussions, Oladipupo answered, “Since you are not the one that killed the person, there won’t be any problem.”

Pretending to be pleased and convinced, our correspondent asked Oladipupo for his bank details, promising to transfer the amount needed for the money ritual once he gets to Lagos.

Surprising ease of obtaining human parts

Before taking his leave, pretending to be worried, our correspondent asked the herbalist how he intended to source the human parts required for the money ritual.

He dismissively answered that he was unaware but later said it could be harvested from accident victims or dead bodies.

After a deep thought, he (herbalist) claimed to also source from herb sellers and “from old members of Oduduwa People Congress.”

In order not to arouse suspicion by probing further, our correspondent left with a promise to transfer the N250,000.

However, three days later, instead of returning with the money, our correspondent called to make an odd urgent request – to procure a human toe for personal reasons.

Without hesitating, Oladipupo promised to contact his supplier and revert back on the price and mode of delivery.

A few minutes later, he called back with the news that the toe could be delivered at any location. He (herbalist) was ready to act as a middle man to broker the deal.

He revealed that it would cost N50,000, but after negotiation, the duo settled for N40,000.

“Once you send money and it is confirmed, I will get it from the supplier and bring it to your place. If you send the money today, I will bring it to Lagos today. My delivery fee is N5,000,” he said.

PUNCH Investigations, however, aborted the mission by not contacting Oladipupo, as it was unclear where the toe would be sourced from.

It is worth noting that the transaction was hinged on an agreement of payment before the supplier would source for it.

After two weeks of silence, the herbalist sent a message to our correspondent to find out why he had yet to hear from him, but he got no response.

Enter Ifatunde, 19-year-old herbalist cum swindler

In Oyo State, Ifatunde, a 19-year-old, who hoodwinked our correspondent into believing he was in his 70s, held sway.

He was the second herbalist that PUNCH Investigations’ search unearthed on Facebook and was contacted via a number advertised on his posts. In what could pass as a veiled attempt to deceive desperate victims, Ifatunde had the ‘Odu Ifa Corpus’ symbol as his profile picture.

However, PUNCH Investigations stumbled on another of his Facebook accounts with another mystical symbol used as a display picture through a WhatsApp number given to our correspondent by the herbalist, which he claimed belonged to his son.

Findings showed that the first Facebook account had 2,140 friends, while the second had 1,000.

He spoke with an unadulterated Ibadan accent in a series of telephone conversations with our correspondent that spanned two weeks. He pretended to be a gruffly old man. He continuously referred to our correspondent as ‘Omo mi’ (my child).

Still sounding like a desperate Internet fraudster, our correspondent reeled out why he needed to become rich. Ifatunde wasted no time boasting that he possessed the ultimate mystical power to conjure wealth and success.

However, his bill was small compared to that of the Ibadan-based herbalist.

“Are you ready for it now?” he asked after days of back and forth on the phone with our correspondent.

“I will charge N95,000 for the one that needs human parts. Since you are 30 years old, there is no problem. If you are not up to a certain age, you cannot use it. Some people that are 19 and 20 years old have approached me, and they got what they wanted. Put your mind at rest,” he said.

After pleading with Ifatunde to reduce the fee, the amount was brought down to N40,000. It was agreed that the amount would be paid in two instalments of N20,000.

The herbalist explained that the deposit would be used to buy the human parts and other items needed to perform a particular sacrifice. At the same time, the balance of N20,000, would be paid once the charm was ready.

“I will do it for you. I hope you won’t be an ingrate because the N40,000 is too small. Do you have the money with you now,” he asked.

However, the money ritual came with a clause – no physical meeting between him and our correspondent until the charm is ready.

“Seeing me would render the charm useless,” he warned.

In what appeared to be a tactic to avoid being traced, Ifatunde requested that the money be transferred to a POS operator, claiming to have issues with his bank account but when our correspondent insisted on paying through a bank or back out, he agreed to send the bank details of his son.

He kept demanding more

After an account with the name Promise Oyewole was sent, the first instalment of N20,000 was paid. However, two days later, Ifa Tunde called to demand an additional N10,000 to purchase ‘essential materials’. He claimed the N20,000 was insufficient and highlighted the dangers of aborting the ritual halfway. The money was sent but with an agreement that only a balance of N10,000 would be paid when the charm was ready.

Surprisingly, the herbalist called the next day to demand another N20,000, to carry out another special sacrifice to fortify the money ritual. He said, “Something appeared to me last night, and I had to suspend the preparation. Before I finish the process, we need to make a sacrifice. I saw something with positive and negative side effects. If the sacrifice is made and you start using the charm, you will get results within three days, but if not, it won’t work.

“It seems that you have been using other charms before now, and they don’t work. I don’t want that to happen again. And you know that there is no way we can perform the sacrifice without money. N20,000 should be enough.”

At this point, it dawned on our correspondent that he could possibly be dealing with an Internet fraudster masquerading as an herbalist.

Our correspondent offered to bring the N20,000 to his shrine, pretending to play along. Still, Ifatunde refused and voiced fears that it portended danger.

He referred to an earlier discussion wherein he warned that the charm forbade any physical meeting with a client. Instead, he proposed sending his son, Promise.

“He would wait for you by the roadside at Ipeba to collect the money,” he said.

Findings by PUNCH Investigations showed that Ipeba is a remote village along the Ogbomoso-Oyo Road.

To be continued

Source: Inside the world of Nigeria’s deadly money ritualists where human parts are traded like commodities (Part I)

Nigeria: ‘Stop Ritual Killings’ Campaign taken to Secondary Schools

The alarming increase in reported cases of ritual murders in the country – nothing less than human sacrifices – has inspired a number of muslim youth in Nigeria to start a campaign addressing the youth in secondary schools in Ibadan, Oyo State.

I have mixed feeling reading this news. On the one hand, it makes me feel good that people speak out against the crime of ritual murder – senseless, criminal, outrageous, unnecessary, based on greed for power, status or wealth – and take concrete action against it. The example deserves to be followed on a national level. On the other hand, it is sad that such a campaign is still necessary in the year 2022. We are living in the third millennium!

By the way, where are the nation’s rulers in all this, the government, the people’s representatives in parliament? It may be useful to recall a recent decision of the House of Representatives asking the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on ritual killings in the country (see my February 11, 2022 post)?
(FVDK)

A group of muslim youths under the aegis of Majlis Khuddam ul Ahmadiyya Nigeria (MKAN) has embarked on a sensitization campaign to secondary schools in Ibadan (Oyo State)

Published: March 19, 2022
By: National Insight, Nigeria

Appalled by the increasing rate of crime especially ritual killing in Nigeria, a group of muslim youths under the aegis of Majlis Khuddam ul Ahmadiyya Nigeria (Cocacola Dil’a) has embarked on sensitization campaign to secondary schools in Ibadan.

The focus is to enlighten the younger generations on the dangers ahead if the incessant ritual killings and other form of crimes is not abated.

Some of the school visited included Community grammar school Mokola Ibadan, Awotan / Araro community High School , Apete, Humani Alaga high school sango, Akufo High school among others.

They noted that ritual killing (human-based sacrifice) has been on the increase as the number of missing persons reportedly killed gruesomely for ritual purposes increases all over the country in the recent time.

The group also attributed the major cause of the menace to get-rich-quick syndrome among young adults in the country, i.e, the urge to get rich earlier has led lots of youths into engaging in money ritual activities.”

“Teenagers who are expected to be preparing themselves for the future have now began to think about owning exotic cars and houses. Many resort to internet fraud and other cyber crimes, and when that seems not to be working as expected, they engage in ritual to enhance their fraudulent activities and to maintain the affluent life they had begun to live.”

Oyo State, Nigeria

Nigeria: arrests of ritualists accused of ‘money rituals’ in Ogun and Oyo states

Introduction
The alleged money ritual described in the first article below is not a ritual murder in the traditional sense. However, this is not meant to say that ‘traditional’ ritual murders are not repulsive and not criminal. All ritual murders are cruel and criminal.

The ritualistic act planned or performed by the three West Africans involved in the first reported case here – a Nigerian, a Togolese and a Benin national – has in common with ‘traditional ritualistic killings’ that the perpetrators act in the firm belief that their nefarious act will bring them luck, more wealth or increased power. in short, superstition in combination with unscrupulous behavior. 

Unfortunately, this case is not an isolated case. On November 1, men of the Amotekun Corps in Ogun State arrested two ritualists who were in possession of a casket containing the dismembered corpse of a man, victim of a ritual killing. Operation Amotekun was created in January 2020 by the governors of six South Western states, namely: Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti and Lagos  in order to combat the widespread insecurity in the region. Operation Amotekun is a kind of paramilitary security network and was declared unconstitutional by the FG in Abuja. 

The two suspects who were arrested have confirmed that the corpse in the casket was for money rituals. The State Commander of Amotekun Corps in Ogun, David Akinremi, confirmed to the press that the two suspects have been handed over to the Police for further investigation.

The third case is about the arrest of two suspected ritualists in Oyo State. With their arrest, the police recovered a fresh human head and the dismembered body of the victim of a ritual murder, a young Lagos girl.

It illustrates that money rituals take place all over the South West of Nigeria, if not in more states. Sadly, if I were to report on alle cases of money ritual in Nigeria, I would fast run out of space and time.

This is a sad conclusion but unfortunately very true (webmaster FVDK).

Ogun police arrests Benin national, Togolese for killing daughter, beheading neighbour’s corpse for money ritual

The two suspected ritualists 

Published: November 15, 2021
By: Otuya Daniel – The Street Journal 

Men of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested two suspected ritualists, Monday Karezu, 32, a national of Benin Republic and Anagonou Kamelan, 44, a Togolese for unlawful possession of a fresh human head.

The suspects were arrested at the house of a herbalist while attempting a money ritual, Punch Nigeria reports.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a statement on Sunday, said the suspects were arrested on November 3, 2021, following information received by men of the Modus Operandi Section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department.

The PPRO added that the policemen got a hint that some men were going to a herbalist’s house with a human head to make a money ritual. He said, “Upon the information, the DSP Nurudeen Gafar-led team swiftly moved to the area where the herbalist’s house was situated and laid ambush there.

Two hours after being there, the two suspects arrived on a motorcycle with a bag containing the human head, and they were promptly arrested.

On interrogation, Karezu informed the police that he got the head from a place known as Ijale Papa.”

Further investigation revealed that Karezu is a resident of the Sabo area of Abeokuta, and that the human head with him was that of a woman who died three months ago during childbirth and was buried not too far from his house.

It was further discovered that the suspect had one time killed his nine months old daughter and used her head for the same purpose, but did not succeed.

He had also exhumed another corpse, removed the head and used it for money-making ritual, but failed.

The latest one that landed them in trouble was introduced to him by Anagonou Kamalen, a Togolese, who informed him that he knew a herbalist who could do an original money-making ritual for him with a human head, hence he exhumed the corpse of the woman buried not too far to his house, cut off the head and in the company of his accomplice, took it to the herbalist’s house, where they were apprehended before delivering it.

Oyeyemi said the state Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, had ordered a full investigation into the past activities of the suspects with a view to charging them to court at the end of investigation.

Source: Ogun police arrests Benin national, Togolese for killing daughter, beheading neighbour’s corpse for money ritual

And:

Ogun Amotekun arrests two ritualists with casket of dismembered corpse

Published: November 2, 2021
By: Otuya Daniel – The Street Journal 

Two suspected ritualists, Dare Banjo and Toheeb Talubi were arrested by men of the Amotekun Corps in Ogun State on Monday, November 1st, 2021 in the Ijebu-Igbo area of the state with a casket of a dismembered corpse, Daily Post is reporting.

The State Commander of Amotekun Corps in Ogun, CP David Akinremi (rtd) said in a statement on Tuesday that the suspects were apprehended following a tip-off that “some persons were sighted bringing in a casket in the middle of the night.”

As a result of the information, Akinremi said his officers quickly mobilized to the scene, where they arrested Dare Banjo, who claims to be a herbalist and one of his accomplices, Toheeb Talubi.

The statement reads, “At about 8pm yesterday, November 1st, 2021, Amotekun operatives in Ijebu Igbo received an information that some persons were sighted bringing in a casket into a house in Fara area of the town.

“The operatives quickly mobilized to the scene and on arrival, they discovered that the building is the residence of one Dare Banjo, who is a herbalist.

“A casket was seen at a corner of a room in the house and the stench from the casket triggered suspicion. The herbalist, Dare Banjo was then asked to open the casket.

“Behold, inside the casket was a dismembered corpse, without head, of a suspected male victim of ritual killing by the herbalist and his cohorts.

“Hence the said Dare Banjo and of his accomplice named Toheeb Talubi ‘m’ were immediately arrested.

“The two suspects who confirmed the corpse was for money rituals have been handed over to the Police for further investigation,” Akinremi concluded.

Source: Ogun Amotekun arrests two ritualists with casket of dismembered corpse

And

Two ritualists behead Lagos girl lured to Ibadan

Published: October 28, 2021
By: Otuya Daniel – The Street Journal 

Operatives of the Nigeria Police  Force Oyo State Command have arrested two suspected ritualists, Ismaila Wasiu and Mutairu Shittu and recovered a fresh human head from them,Vanguard is reporting.

The state Police Public Relation Officer, DSP Adewale Osifeso made this disclosure in a statement issued on Wednesday, October 27th, 2021 in Ibadan, the state capital.

Osifeso said that the police received credible intelligence from residents of Ayekale, Saki Area of Oyo State, at about 2:30 pm on Monday who alleged the suspected ritualists, Ismaila Wasiu, 29, and Mutairu Shittu, 35, were in possession of a fresh human head.

He said, “Oyo State Police Command attached to Saki Divisional Police Headquarters immediately swung into action which resulted in the arrest of the duo, the recovery of the fresh human head and the dismembered body of the victim, who has been identified to be one Mujidat.

“Preliminary investigation reveals that the victim was lured from Lagos through a phone call by one of the suspects, Ismaila Wasiu, before they killed her.”

Osifeso said that the investigation into the incident was ongoing and the dismembered body of the victim has been deposited in a morgue.

“The dismembered body has been deposited at the morgue, while intensive investigations regarding the incident continues,” he added.

He noted that the suspects will be charged to court after investigation.

The Commissioner of Police of Oyo state, CP Ngozi Onadeko urged citizens to draw lessons from the gruesome murder of the victim.

She also called on all law-abiding people resident in the state to give their unwavering cooperation towards the rendition of timely and actionable information capable of fueling the Command’s crusade against crime in the state.

Source: Two ritualists behead Lagos girl lured to Ibadan

Nigeria Humanist Movement leader Leo Igwe comments on the arrest of suspected ritualists in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

Leo Igwe is a well-known human rights advocate, specialized in campaigning against witchcraft and cruel ritualistic practices. I mentioned him before on this site (see my June 24, 2018 post on Superstition in Mozambique) and also elsewhere, when he spoke out against ritual murders in Africa: in his home country Nigeria in 2004, in Swaziland (nowadays called Eswatini) in 2008, and in African countries in general in 2010 and 2012. Recently, the infatigable human rights campaigner was again in the spotlight when condemning ‘money ritual’ practices in Nigeria, calling the criminal acts ‘useless’ and trying to persuade ritual killers to give up their ‘useless’ practices.

I wish to commend Leo Igwe for his tireless efforts to end these cruel, criminal and senseless practices. The world and Africa in general need more Leo Igwe’s to condemn and end ritualistic murders on the continent (webmaster FVDK).

Nothing like ‘money rituals’, ritual killers are killing in vain – Nigerian human rights advocate Leo Igwe

The leader of the Nigerian human rights group reacts to the recently reported arrest of suspected ritualists in the Boluwaji area of Ibadan, Oyo State.

Published: September 24, 2021
By: SaharaReporters, New York

The Nigerian Humanist Movement has urged Nigerians to stop believing they can get rich or become wealthy through the killing of fellow citizens for money rituals.

NHM, a group that advocates the principles of humanism, urged Nigerians to understand that the notion of ritual money and wealth is completely baseless and invalid.

The rights group was reacting to the recently reported arrest of suspected ritualists in the Boluwaji area of Ibadan, Oyo State.

Reports emerged during the week that members of the Western Nigeria Security Network, codenamed Operation Amotekun had arrested suspected ritualists, who were in possession of the body parts of a 73-year-old man.

The suspects, during interrogations, had told operatives of the security outfit that a Muslim cleric, whom they identified as Alfa Salam Salam, asked them to get some human body parts for rituals.

But in an interview with SaharaReporters on Thursday, NHM, through its National Director, Leo Igwe, said irrational conceptions of how to make money or become wealthy and successful often lead to killing of innocent people in vain.

“I don’t think there is any way the claim ritual money is validated, at least in a way that can be confirmed by a third party.

“For example, if you want to make money using human body parts. Do you want to make it in naira, or dollars or pounds or euros? Actually, if it is true that you really want to make money through rituals, why are Nigerians not making money in these foreign currencies that I mentioned that have more value than naira if we are to go by that. That’s number one.

“Number two. We know very well that the Central Bank or an affiliated bank agency is responsible for printing currencies and they come with specific numbers. In other words, if we have to account for the money these people say they are making through rituals, where are they getting the numbers that tally with what is in circulation?

“Let assume you go and bring it from the vault of First Bank, what happens to that branch where the money disappears from? What happens to the Branch Manager? Are they not going to account for it? If that’s the case, you know how many branch managers of banks would be crying out every day that money has disappeared?

“We have not heard from any of these commercial banks that they are looking for money. Now, even if it disappears, how are we not going to probe the way that it was stolen?”

Igwe further argued there is a possibility of people stealing public money and hanging it around a money ritual that does not exist.

“My point is that let’s put all these superstitions aside and accept that some people actually steal to make money and tie it around money rituals. People can actually make money by conniving with bank officials in a way we don’t know and start flaunting it that they did money rituals. It doesn’t make sense!

“So what am I trying to say? It doesn’t make sense at all. It is important for us to begin to openly challenge this claim. The reason is that our young people are dying. Honestly, I’m in pain. I’m not joking. When I see how young men are killing their fathers, mothers, and relatives in the name of rituals for money, I cry because it is an illusion.

“It is baseless and does not exist anywhere. Instead of providing them with evidence-based ways of making money, they will tell them to go and bring the heads of their family members,” he added.

Source: Nothing Like Money Rituals, Ritual Killers Are Killing In Vain – Nigerian Humanist Movement